Fintech & digital payments rules in Uganda (2026)

The National Payment Systems Act 2020 (Act No. 15 of 2020, assented July 29, 2020) provides the statutory basis for licensing, oversight, and consumer protection in payments; the NPS Regulations 2021 operationalize it and NPS Consumer Protection Regulations 2022 add cross-cutting consumer safeguards.

NPS Regulations 2021 create three classes: Payment System Operator (clearing, settlement, aggregators, payment gateways); Payment Service Provider (e-money issuers, e-loan providers, tokens); and Issuer of Payment Instruments (cards, electronic devices, paper-based instruments). All require BoU authorization before operation.

Before the NPS Act, mobile money operated under informal Bank of Uganda Mobile Money Guidelines 2013 via partner bank 'no-objection' letters. Since 2021 non-banks are licensed directly; MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda each received PSP Class A and Electronic Money Issuer licenses from BoU in May 2021, and new entrants (e.g., NALA) continue to obtain PSP and PSO licenses.

The NPS Act 2020 formally legislates a regulatory sandbox allowing fintechs to test payment products within the NPS ecosystem under Bank of Uganda supervision without a full production license, designed to balance consumer protection with financial innovation.

The Bank of Uganda selected CMA Small Systems (Sweden) to upgrade the Uganda National Interbank Settlement (UNIS) real-time gross settlement system to an ISO 20022-enabled platform supporting real-time, multi-currency, DvP and PvP settlements, with go-live targeted for 2025.

No standalone BNPL-specific statute or formal open banking framework has been enacted as of 2025–2026. BNPL providers active in Uganda (e.g., Lipa Later) are subject to general NPS Act licensing and the NPS Consumer Protection Regulations 2022; open banking interoperability is addressed partially through the NPS interoperability rules rather than a dedicated regime.