Digital Payments & Fintech · Algeria
Digital Payments & Fintech - Algeria
Algeria has a dedicated, in-force licensing regime for digital payments and fintech administered by the Bank of Algeria. The 2023 Monetary and Banking Law created the legal categories of Payment Service Provider (PSP) and digital bank, and these were operationalized by binding regulations and instructions issued in 2024-2025 that set authorization procedures, minimum capital, fund-segregation and consumer-protection rules. No dedicated open-banking or Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) framework yet exists.
Law No. 23-09 of 21 June 2023 (Monetary and Banking Law) overhauled the sector and introduced new licensable actors — payment service providers, digital banks, investment banks — and provisions enabling further digitalization, replacing the prior 2003 ordinance.
Règlement n° 25-02 of 14 April 2025 sets the conditions for constituting, authorizing and operating Payment Service Providers; PSPs must be Algerian-incorporated companies authorized by the Governor of the Bank of Algeria.
Instruction n° 06-2025 of 17 August 2025 (36 articles) is the first dedicated PSP operating framework: minimum capital of 160 million DZD fully paid in cash, mandatory segregation/ring-fencing of client funds in escrow, agent networks, tiered digital wallets and strong customer authentication.
Règlement n° 24-04 of 13 October 2024 (in force 21 November 2024) defines digital banks (exclusively digital channels) and sets authorization conditions, including head office and platform hosting in Algeria, ≥30% capital held by an experienced Algerian bank, and a ban on physical branches.
Domestic card and electronic payment infrastructure is run by SATIM (interbank switch and national e-payment gateway for CIB and Algérie Poste's Edahabia cards), with GIE Monétique (created June 2014) governing the interbank monetary system.
There is no dedicated open-banking (account-access/API) regime or specific Buy-Now-Pay-Later regulation in force; these remain unaddressed by current rules, with a regulatory sandbox for innovators only targeted for 2026.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/25/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →