Fintech & digital payments rules in Lesotho (2026)

The Central Bank of Lesotho regulates and supervises payment systems and payment service providers under the National Payment Systems Act No. 8 of 2014, which empowers it to license providers, set standards, and ensure system reliability.

The Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments) Regulations 2017 require issuers of electronic payment instruments to obtain a CBL licence; licensees must be incorporated companies with a registered office in Lesotho, and the rules cover capital adequacy, agents, outsourcing, fund management, financial integrity and consumer protection.

CBL Guidelines on Mobile Money apply to all non-bank-based mobile payment models, and the Bank periodically sets KYC/CDD requirements and transaction limits for mobile money services.

Lesotho's interoperable national payment switch, LeSwitch, was piloted in 2022 and officially launched on 20 March 2024, enabling instant interoperable payments across banks, mobile network operators, ATMs and (from 2025) POS terminals.

The CBL has issued a press statement confirming it does not oversee, supervise or regulate cryptocurrencies or crypto-asset platforms; there is no virtual-asset licensing framework and no recourse to the Bank for crypto losses.

Lesotho has no dedicated open-banking regime or specific buy-now-pay-later regulation; the digital-finance framework remains focused on the payments/e-money licensing regime, with other fintech areas governed only by general or developing rules.