Fintech & digital payments rules in Vanuatu (2026)

The National Payment System Act No. 8 of 2021 gives the RBV authority to control, license and oversee payment, clearing and settlement systems; e-money and digital-wallet providers fall within RBV's purview and must meet licensing, prudential and reporting obligations.

RBV launched VANKLIA in September 2023, comprising a Real-Time Gross Settlement component for high-value payments and an Automated Clearing House that includes an Instant Funds Transfer (IFT) facility for low-value retail credit transfers executed immediately.

Mobile money and e-money issuers are regulated under the NPS Act; supervision was transferred to the RBV (via an amended MoU with the telecom regulator TRBR), and the RBV issued Operating Guidelines for Mobile Money Service Providers in July 2025 covering licensing, fund safeguarding, agent networks and AML/CTF compliance.

The MMSP licensing process is designed so that only entities with adequate financial, technical and operational capacity may operate; the RBV may revoke a licence for breach of regulatory requirements under Section 14 of the NPS Act.

The payments-law modernisation and VANKLIA infrastructure were developed with technical assistance from IFC/World Bank and the governments of Australia and New Zealand, aimed at boosting financial inclusion and replacing slow manual cheque clearing.

Vanuatu has no PSD2-equivalent open-banking mandate and no specific buy-now-pay-later regime; published official sources indicate these areas are not yet covered by a dedicated framework.