Digital Payments & Fintech · Zimbabwe
Fintech & digital payments rules in Zimbabwe (2026)
Zimbabwe shaded by its digital payments & fintech status
Zimbabwe operates a clear, in-force licensing regime for digital payments and fintech under the National Payment Systems Act [Chapter 24:23], with the RBZ as the designated regulator and licensing authority for payment system participants, payment service providers, money transmitters and mobile money operators. Interoperability is mandated through the RBZ-designated national switch (Zimswitch/ZIPIT), and licensing fees and conduct rules were updated by SI 17 of 2025. However, there is no dedicated open-banking framework and no specific BNPL regime, so those sub-areas remain unregulated or addressed only by general rules.
Key points
The National Payment Systems Act [Chapter 24:23] gives the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe statutory power to recognise, designate, oversee and supervise payment, clearing and settlement systems, providing the legal basis for licensing payment system participants.
Non-bank payment service providers, money transmitters and mobile money operators must be licensed by the RBZ under the 2016 Framework for the Recognition of Payment Systems and the SI 80/2020 banking regulations, and must partner with a locally licensed bank to operate.
Statutory Instrument 17 of 2025 (the Banking (Money Transmission, Mobile Banking and Money Interoperability) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025) amended SI 80/2020's First Schedule, revising the licensing fees and procedural requirements for payment service providers.
Under the NPS Act and SI 80/2020, the RBZ designated Zimswitch as the national payment switch and directed all mobile money and mobile banking providers to connect to it; its ZIPIT service provides real-time account-to-account and wallet-to-wallet transfers across banks and operators.
Zimbabwe has not implemented open banking and has no formal regulatory framework mandating bank API access or third-party data sharing; the area remains undeveloped.
There is no specific buy-now-pay-later licensing or conduct regime in Zimbabwe; BNPL providers fall under general financial, payment and consumer rules rather than a tailored framework.
Zimbabwe - other topics
Last verified 5/25/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →