1.   Member States shall allow payment institutions that have taken up activities in accordance with the national law transposing Directive 2007/64/EC by 13 January 2018, to continue those activities in accordance with the requirements provided for in Directive 2007/64/EC without being required to seek authorisation in accordance with Article 5 of this Directive or to comply with the other provisions laid down or referred to in Title II of this Directive until 13 July 2018.

Member States shall require such payment institutions to submit all relevant information to the competent authorities in order to allow the latter to assess, by 13 July 2018, whether those payment institutions comply with the requirements laid down in Title II and, if not, which measures need to be taken in order to ensure compliance or whether a withdrawal of authorisation is appropriate.

Payment institutions which upon verification by the competent authorities comply with the requirements laid down in Title II shall be granted authorisation and shall be entered in the registers referred to in Articles 14 and 15. Where those payment institutions do not comply with the requirements laid down in Title II by 13 July 2018, they shall be prohibited from providing payment services in accordance with Article 37.

2.   Member States may provide for payment institutions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to be automatically granted authorisation and entered in the registers referred to in Articles 14 and 15 if the competent authorities already have evidence that the requirements laid down in Articles 5 and 11 are complied with. The competent authorities shall inform the payment institutions concerned before the authorisation is granted.

3.   This paragraph applies to natural or legal persons who benefited under Article 26 of Directive 2007/64/EC before 13 January 2018, and pursued payment services activities within the meaning of Directive 2007/64/EC.

Member States shall allow those persons to continue those activities within the Member State concerned in accordance with Directive 2007/64/EC, until 13 January 2019 without being required to seek authorisation under Article 5 of this Directive or, to obtain an exemption pursuant to Article 32 of this Directive, or to comply with the other provisions laid down or referred to in Title II of this Directive.

Any person referred to in the first subparagraph who has not, by 13 January 2019, been authorised or exempted under this Directive shall be prohibited from providing payment services in accordance with Article 37 of this Directive.

4.   Member States may allow natural and legal persons benefiting from an exemption as referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article to be deemed to benefit from an exemption and automatically entered in the registers referred to in Articles 14 and 15 where the competent authorities have evidence that the requirements laid down in Article 32 are complied with. The competent authorities shall inform the payment institutions concerned.

5.   Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, payment institutions that have been granted authorisation to provide payment services as referred to in point (7) of the Annex to Directive 2007/64/EC shall retain that authorisation for the provision of those payment services which are considered to be payment services as referred to in point (3) of the Annex I to this Directive where, by 13 January 2020, the competent authorities have the evidence that the requirements laid down in point (c) of Article 7 and in Article 9 of this Directive are complied with.