Fintech & digital payments rules in Solomon Islands (2026)

The Payment Systems Act 2022 is the foundational legislation for payment system regulation; it provides CBSI with specific 'operational' and 'oversight' mandates over the national payment system, reinforced by a 2012 CBSI Act amendment. CBSI is the sole supervisor of financial institutions.

CBSI launched the Solomons Automated Transfer System (SOLATS), a real-time gross settlement system, in April 2024, replacing the manual cheque-based interbank settlement process and enabling electronic and mobile payments. It was developed with IFC, World Bank, Australia and New Zealand support.

CBSI launched a regulatory sandbox in April 2022 allowing fintechs, payment service providers, mobile-money operators and remittance/payment innovators (local and international) to test products under supervision — used as a controlled pathway pending full licensing rules.

Active digital wallet / mobile-money services include M-SELEN (Our Telekom, launched June 2023 with UNCDF and Australian support), iumiCash, and Ezi Pei (Solomon Post). Some launched via sandbox testing and CBSI no-objection arrangements rather than under a fully codified e-money licence.

CBSI, with Australian support, has begun nationwide consultations to develop a unified national QR-code payment standard to ensure interoperability among banks, mobile-money and e-money providers — indicating the framework is still being expanded rather than complete.

No dedicated open-banking framework or specific buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) regulation has been identified in CBSI's published legislation or releases; these areas are not yet addressed by a distinct in-force regime.