Electronic Money Institution — Zambia

The Zambia category mapped to e-money issuance.

National Payment Systems Act, 2026: issues electronic money on receipt of equivalent funds; customer float held. Facts conditional on the BoZ register being reachable (it returned persistent 503 errors during collection).

Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-24 · unchanged since the previous check.

Licensed providers

7 entities

#	Provider	Status (as reported)	Source	Source date
1	MTN Mobile Money Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
2	Mypay Financial Solutions Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
3	Samafrica Online Zambia Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
4	Spargris Zambia Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
5	Union 54 Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
6	Zamtel Mobile Money Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated
7	Zoona Transactions Zambia Limited	authorized	Bank of Zambia	not dated

Reading the tables

not dated: — the official source publishes no date of its own. We show our own last-checked date instead of inventing one for the regulator.

Licence requirements

What it takes to hold this licence, as stated in the cited official instruments. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses.

Requirement	As published	Source	Source date
Minimum capital	Not officially published: Initial capital: no published number — "as prescribed by the Bank." Continuing capital ≥ 2% of the float.	BoZ, National Payment Systems Directives on Electronic Money Issuance, 2018 — Gov Gazette No. 6661, Notice 394 of 2018, 27 Apr 2018	2018-04-27
Local presence / incorporation	Body corporate; PACRA incorporation; local head office/branches; ZICA-registered auditor; local bankers. Foreign company licensable if a PSP adequately supervised at home. Verbatim “A person that is not a corporate shall not be issued with a licence under this Act. … may be granted to a foreign company registered in the Republic if the … foreign company is a payment service provider in the country where the … principal place of business is located…”	National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation	2026-04-08
Timeline	Processing: determination within 90 days of a complete application. Validity: indefinite (until suspended/cancelled/surrendered; certificate valid while annual fee paid). Commencement: business must start within 18 months of grant. Verbatim “…within a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt of the duly completed application. … A licence issued under this Act shall remain valid unless suspended or cancelled by the Bank or surrendered by a licensee. … A licensee shall commence a business … within eighteen months from the date a licence is granted…”	BoZ, Requirements for Designating a Payment System, February 2025	2025-02
Local ownership	No local-shareholding %. Board control instead: majority of directors resident in Zambia; min 3 board members; fit-and-proper significant shareholders. Verbatim “(a) … a minimum of three (3) board members … (c) Majority of the number of appointed directors shall be resident in Zambia.”	BoZ, Requirements for Designating a Payment System, February 2025	2025-02
Fees	Not officially published: Application: "prescribed fee" — no amount. Annual designation fee to keep the certificate valid — no amount.	National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation	2026-04-08
Ongoing obligations	Trust safeguarding of float in a Holding Account at a BoZ-approved bank (aggregate ≥ outstanding e-money liabilities; segregated; ring-fenced in liquidation); issue only against pre-deposited funds; no lending/investing the float; monthly returns by 6th business day; incident report within 48h; 10-year record retention; ZICA external auditor; AML per Financial Intelligence Centre Act; ZMW denomination. Verbatim “An E-money institution shall hold customer funds in trust on behalf of its customers in a Holding Account. … The aggregate value of the Holding Account shall at least equal the total outstanding e-money liabilities at all times. … issue electronic money only after equivalent cash is deposited in a holding account…”	BoZ, National Payment Systems Directives on Electronic Money Issuance, 2018 — Gov Gazette No. 6661, Notice 394 of 2018, 27 Apr 2018	2018-04-27

Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. Where a value is located but not yet verified, we show that it exists but don't publish the figure. Verify directly with the regulator.

The equivalent in other markets

Categories mapped to the same normalized activity — fintech:EMONEY_ISSUE:

Cross-border rules for Zambia →