Digital Payments & Fintech · Afghanistan
Fintech & payments regulation in Afghanistan (2026)
Afghanistan shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Fintech and digital payments in Afghanistan: partial, under Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Regulation on Licensing and Oversight of Payment and Settlement Systems (2016); Electronic Money Institutions (EMI) Regulation (2016); Regulation on Domestic Payment Operations.
Da Afghanistan Bank formally established licensing frameworks for payment system operators and electronic money institutions in 2016 and operates national infrastructure (RTGS, ACSS/ICPSS, AfPay domestic card scheme) through the Afghanistan Payments System (APS) consortium. Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, practical functioning is severely curtailed: Afghan banks are cut off from SWIFT, approximately $7 billion in DAB foreign reserves remain frozen, and the Taliban has been reviewing financial laws toward Islamic banking principles. A licensing framework formally exists on paper but operates in an internationally isolated and legally uncertain environment.
Key points
DAB issued the Regulation on Licensing and Oversight of Payment and Settlement Systems (2016) and a separate EMI Regulation (2016), establishing formal authorization requirements for payment system operators and electronic money institutions. Four e-money account types are permitted: cash card, debit card, mobile wallet, and stored-value account card.
DAB's Directorate General of Payments operates an RTGS system (upgraded 2020), ACSS and ICPSS interbank clearing systems (upgraded 2023), and the AfPay domestic card and mobile wallet scheme via the Afghanistan Payments System (APS), a World Bank-funded consortium connecting banks, EMIs, and payment institutions.
Following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghan commercial banks were cut off from SWIFT and approximately $7 billion in DAB foreign reserves were frozen by the US. The US Treasury has issued General Licenses (including GL 20) to permit humanitarian and limited economic transactions, but international isolation severely constrains formal digital payments.
In 2024 the Taliban appointed a committee to review central bank and commercial banking laws to align them with Islamic banking principles, prohibiting interest-based products. Engagement with the international community on the resulting financial law changes remains limited, creating deep regulatory uncertainty for payment service providers.
The Taliban banned cryptocurrency in August 2022 on religious grounds and conducted further crackdowns in 2023-2024. Underground crypto trading persists despite the ban; no legal framework exists for crypto-based payment instruments.
No formal open banking regime or BNPL-specific regulation has been established. A 2023 UNDP/UNCDF report on financial service provider interoperability identified the absence of interoperability rules as a key barrier to digital financial inclusion in Afghanistan.
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