Fintech & digital payments rules in Somalia (2026)

The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS), through its Licensing and Supervision Department (Payment Systems and Money Market Oversight division), licenses and supervises mobile money providers and operates the National Payment System.

The Mobile Money Regulations 2020 (amended 2021) set the licensing regime: applications are made to CBS, licenses are non-transferable, and providers must meet interoperability, disaster-recovery, KYC, AML and reporting requirements. This is the operative e-money framework.

In 2021 CBS issued Somalia's first mobile money license to Hormuud Telecom (EVCPlus), formally bringing the dominant mobile money services under national regulation and AML supervision.

CBS launched the National Payment System in July 2021 to connect licensed commercial banks on a unified digital infrastructure. The accompanying NPS Act has not been passed by Parliament; it was adopted by the CBS Board as an interim measure.

Interoperability is a regulatory requirement; in 2024 Hormuud began integrating EVCPlus with local commercial banks (with partners including Mastercard and Paymentology), aiming to connect all commercial banks — but a unified national instant-payment retail rail is still developing.

No specific open-banking mandate, dedicated payment-institution/EMI tiering beyond mobile money, or BNPL rules were identified in CBS materials, reflecting an early-stage regime focused on mobile money and bank-led payments.