Fintech & digital payments rules in Sierra Leone (2026)

The National Payment Systems Act, 2022 provides that no person shall provide payment services or operate a payment system unless duly licensed by the Central Bank, and empowers the Bank of Sierra Leone to make implementing rules by statutory instrument.

The Bank of Sierra Leone is the licensing and oversight authority for payment systems, payment service providers and e-money issuers, supplemented by the National Payment Systems Oversight Regulations, 2022.

E-money issuers must issue e-money against Leones or liquid assets acceptable to the Central Bank, redeem at par on request, and report float, loaded and redeemed values; mobile money is further governed by AML directives and guidelines from the Financial Intelligence Unit.

The Bank of Sierra Leone operates the Salone Payment Switch (SaPS); Phase 1 (ATM/POS interoperability) launched May 2023 and the real-time Instant Payment Service launched February 2025, with banks and mobile operators mandated to route domestic transactions through it.

The BSL established a regulatory sandbox (reported as the second in Africa after Kenya), with four fintechs admitted to the first cohort, providing a controlled route for testing innovative payment and fintech products.

There is no dedicated open-banking mandate or specific Buy-Now-Pay-Later regime; the Ministry of Finance issued a Request for Expression of Interest in September 2025 to develop a national FinTech Strategy under BSL oversight, indicating these areas remain under development.