Digital Payments & Fintech · Burundi
Fintech & digital payments rules in Burundi (2026)
Burundi shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Burundi has an in-force licensing regime for digital payments: the central bank (BRB) licenses and supervises payment institutions, payment service providers and electronic-money issuers under the 2018 National Payment System Law and dedicated 2017/2024 regulations and circulars. The BRB also operates the national instant-payment infrastructure (BurundiPay, launched April 2025) and licenses non-bank PSPs and mobile-money operators. There is no dedicated open-banking framework, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) is not specifically regulated.
Key points
The Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB) is the sole regulator and supervisor of payments. Law No. 01/07 of 11 May 2018 establishes the National Payment System and the BRB's oversight authority over payment systems, instruments and providers.
Regulation No. 002 of 2024 on payment services and the activities of payment institutions (updating the earlier Règlement No. 001/2017) sets out authorization, capital and conduct requirements for licensed payment institutions, including non-bank payment service providers.
Circular No. 001 of 2024 governs the activities of electronic-money-issuing payment institutions, providing a dedicated regime for e-money and mobile money. Three mobile-money providers, seven banks and nine MFIs operate digital platforms via a 153,000-strong agent network.
Banking/payment agents are regulated (Règlement No. 002/2017 on commercial agents in banking operations), and BRB enforces compliance via Circular No. 01/EP/19 setting a sanctions matrix applicable to payment institutions.
On 23 April 2025 the BRB launched BurundiPay, a national instant-payment system enabling real-time interoperable transfers across banks, MFIs and mobile wallets, built on the ISO 20022 standard and supporting USSD; it follows the BRB's ATS migration to ISO 20022 in February 2025.
No dedicated open-banking regulation has been enacted, and buy-now-pay-later lending is not subject to a specific framework; such activity falls under general banking/payment and consumer rules rather than a tailored regime.
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Last verified 5/25/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →