Fintech & digital payments rules in Djibouti (2026)

Law No. 118/AN/15/7ème L of 16 July 2016 establishes the National Payment System (NPS), providing the primary legal basis for oversight of payment systems and services, including provisions for agent-based delivery of payment services.

The BCD licenses non-bank remittance and payment service providers as financial auxiliaries; as of 2023, 19 such providers held active BCD licences, with the BCD maintaining the public register of approved institutions.

Two regulated e-money operators are active: D-Money (launched 2020 by Djibouti Telecom, ~100,000 users) and Nomadecom; individual transaction limits are set at 1 million DJF/day and 3 million DJF/month, while enterprise accounts have no balance cap.

No dedicated instant-payment rail or open banking framework is yet in force. The World Bank is supporting development of retail payment infrastructure that would formally admit MNOs and fintechs; no open-banking mandate has been issued.

A Startup Act was approved in April 2025 providing fiscal and administrative incentives for tech startups, and a Digital Code is being finalised to modernise the legislative framework; the Ministry of Digital Economy also signed an MOU with Visa for a national e-wallet initiative.

Djibouti completed a MENA-FATF mutual evaluation in November 2024 and is implementing recommended reforms; the U.S. State Department's 2025 Investment Climate Statement notes the legal and regulatory framework remains 'neither completely transparent, nor consistent with international norms,' and BNPL is not specifically regulated.