How much capital does a payment processing licence require across African markets?
Across the 15 African markets that publish a minimum-capital figure for a payment processing licence, the floor is set by each market's own statute, in that market's own currency — some as a single amount, some tiered by the services the licence authorizes. Below is the record for each market, verbatim and source-linked. Amounts stay in the statute's own currency; Afriset reports the requirement, not a cross-currency comparison — there is no conversion or ranking here.
Regulators name this licence differently market by market: Agregador de pagamento (Payment aggregator) in Mozambique, Aggregator in Rwanda, Établissement de paiement (Payment Institution) across the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale) union, Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Pagamentos (Payment service provider company) in Angola, plus 14 more in the table below. Operators ask about this licence in other words: payment service provider (PSP), payment gateway or acquiring. Minimum capital is one requirement among several; what it takes in full, market by market, is linked below.
“Payment processing” here is the normalized activity: Provide payment processing / payment solution services without holding customer funds. Providers in this category cannot keep customers' money. The comparable axis is the minimum-capital floor its licence attaches — structure, tiers and denomination currency differ by market and are shown as published, not converted.
Activity id (as used by the Afriset MCP): fintech:PAYMENT_PROCESSING
Minimum capital, market by market
| Market | Licence category | Minimum capital (as published) | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Pagamentos | Tiered by SPSP sub-class (Aviso 04/2024 art. 3): Principal Kz 70 000 000,00; Standard Classe 1 Kz 40 000 000,00; Standard Classe 2 Kz 25 000 000,00; Remessa de Valores Kz 70 000 000,00; Serviços de Iniciação de Pagamento Kz 25 000 000,00; Serviços de Informação sobre Contas Kz 20 000 000,00. Verbatim"devem ter o seu capital social integralmente realizado no valor mínimo de: a) Para as Sociedades Prestadoras de Serviços de Pagamento previstas nas alíneas a) e b) do n.º 2 do artigo 18.º do Aviso n.º 02/22, de 02 de Fevereiro: i. Principal – Kz 70 000 000,00 (setenta milhões de Kwanzas); ii. Standard Classe 1 – Kz 40 000 000,00 (quarenta milhões de Kwanzas); e, iii. Standard Classe 2 – Kz 25 000 000,00 (vinte e cinco milhões de Kwanzas). b) Para as Sociedades Prestadoras de Serviços de Pagamento que prestem os serviços previstos nas alíneas c), d) e e) do n.º 2 do artigo 18.º do Aviso n.º 02/2022, de 02 de Fevereiro: i. Remessa de Valores – Kz 70 000 000,00 (setenta milhões de Kwanzas); ii. Serviços de Iniciação de Pagamento – Kz 25 000 000,00 (vinte cinco milhões de Kwanzas); e, iii. Serviços de Informação sobre Contas – Kz 20 000 000,00 (vinte milhões de Kwanzas)." | Aviso n.º 04/2024, de 16 de Dezembro — Capital Social Mínimo das Instituições Financeiras Não Bancárias (revokes Aviso 05/23; the operative SPSP + casa-de-câmbio capital) | 2024-12-16 |
| Botswana | Account Based Payment Services | P1 000 000 (BWP) minimum initial capital for Account Based Payment Services, per Schedule 2 of the EPS Regulations 2019. Verbatim"These are P2 000 000 for Electronic Money Issuance; P1 000 000 for Account Based Payment Services and P100 000 for non-account-based services." | EPS Licensing Guidelines V1.0 (February 2022) — §5.2 (initial capital, citing reg 5(2)(c) + Schedule 2 of the EPS Regulations 2019), §5.6 (incorporation), §5.8 (safeguarding of funds), §5.13 (fees), §6.3 (decision timeline), §7.1 (annual renewal) | 2022-02 |
| Burundi | Établissement agrégateur de paiement (fournisseur de plateforme de paiement) | 200 000 000 BIF (deux cents millions de francs Burundi) minimum share capital, fully paid at the agrément (Circulaire 002/2024, conditions §1). Verbatim"Tout établissement agrégateur de paiement doit disposer d'un capital social minimum, entièrement libéré au moment de l'agrément, d'un montant de deux cents millions de francs Burundi (200 000 000 BIF)." | Circulaire n° 002/2024 relative aux établissements agrégateurs de paiement — conditions §1 (capital), §2–5 (governance/AML/withdrawal) | 2024 |
| CEMAC CameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongo-BrazzavilleEquatorial GuineaGabon | Établissement de paiement | XAF 500,000,000, fully paid-up (the minimum released share capital of a payment institution) Verbatim"Le capital social minimum libéré des établissements de paiement est fixé à cinq cent millions de FCFA." | COBAC R-2019/02 relatif aux normes prudentielles applicables aux établissements de paiement (capital, own funds) | 2019-09-23 |
| DR Congo | Agrégateur (prestataire de services connexes de paiement) | Not published. A payment aggregator holds an autorisation (not a capital-based agrément); Instruction n° 42 fixes no minimum capital for a prestataire de services connexes. | Instruction n° 42 relative aux règles applicables à la monétique en RDC (the connexes/aggregator authorization frame) | 2020-03-09 |
| Ethiopia | Payment System Operator (POS & Payment Gateway Operator) | ETB 20 million (twenty million Birr) for an automated teller machine operator; ETB 10 million (ten million Birr) for a point-of-sale device operator; ETB 3 million (three million Birr) for a payment gateway operator (the sum of the relevant tiers if the applicant operates two or more systems). Verbatim"c) ETB 20 million (twenty million Birr) if it is an automated teller machine operator; d) ETB 10 million (ten million Birr) if it is a point of sale device operator; e) ETB 3 million (three million Birr) if it is a payment gateway operator;" | Licensing and Authorization of Payment System Operators Directive No. ONPS/02/2020 (operative PSO base) | 2020 |
| Kenya | Electronic Retail Payment Service Provider | KES 5,000,000 (core capital) Verbatim"5,000,000.00" | National Payment System Regulations, 2014 (Legal Notice 109 of 2014) | 2022-12-31 |
| Mauritius | Payment Service Provider | Rs 5,000,000 for a payment service provider providing payment-processing services (Second Schedule items (a)–(e): cash placement, cash withdrawal, execution of payment transactions, credit-line execution, and issue of payment instruments/acquiring). The Second Schedule sets other minima by service class: money remittance Rs 3,000,000; payment initiation services Rs 3,000,000; account information services Rs 1,000,000; small e-money issuer Rs 3,000,000; large e-money issuer Rs 5,000,000; operator of a payment/clearing/settlement system Rs 50,000,000. Capital must be maintained at all times in Mauritius (reg 8(1)). Verbatim"For a payment service provider to provide the following payment service — (a) services enabling cash to be placed on a payment account, including all operations required for operating a payment account 5 million; (b) services enabling cash withdrawal from a payment account 5 million; (c) execution of payment transactions 5 million; (d) execution of payment transactions where the funds are covered by a credit line for a payment service user 5 million; (e) issue of payment instruments and/or acquiring of payment transactions 5 million; (f) money remittance 3 million; (g) payment initiation services 3 million; (h) account information services 1 million; (i) any other services functional to the transfer of money, including the issuance of electronic money (i) small e-money issuer 3 million (ii) large e-money issuer 5 million. For an operator of a payment system, clearing system or settlement system 50 million … a licensee shall, after deducting its accumulated losses, maintain at all times in Mauritius — (a) the appropriate minimum capital specified in the Second Schedule" | National Payment Systems (Authorisation and Licensing) Regulations 2021 (GN 118/2021; Gazette No. 72 of 31 May 2021; as amended by GN 239/2024) — reg 2 (definitions), reg 4 (application/timeline), reg 5 (fees), reg 6 (presence/AML), reg 8 (capital), First + Second Schedules | 2021-05-31 |
| Morocco | Établissement de paiement offrant des produits et services de paiement | MAD 10,000,000 (dix millions de dirhams) — the minimum paid-up capital or fully-versed endowment of a payment institution licensed to offer the loi 103-12 Art. 16 payment services. Verbatim"2- 10.000.000,00 DH (dix millions de dirhams) pour les sociétés agréées pour offrir les services de paiement prévus à l'article 16 de la loi n° 103-12 relative aux établissements de crédit et organismes assimilés." | Circulaire du Wali de Bank Al-Maghrib n° 8/W/2016 (10 juin 2016) inserting Art. 2 bis (établissement de paiement minimum capital) into circ. 20/G/2006, as homologated (BO n° 6666 du 19-4-2018) | 2016-06-10 |
| Mozambique | Agregador de pagamento | Not published. Decreto 50/2024 fixes no metical minimum-capital amount for a payment aggregator; the pre-2024 figures are in the revoked Decreto 99/2019 and no operative published figure was located this build. | Decreto n.º 50/2024, de 11 de Julho — Regulamento da Lei das Instituições de Crédito e Sociedades Financeiras (LICSF); the EPSP regime lives in arts. 51–59 (revokes Decretos 56/2004, 57/2004, 31/2006, 30/2014 and 99/2019, the EPSP decree) | 2024-07-11 |
| Namibia | Payment facilitator service provider | Not published. The initial capital amount is set by the Bank in the "Payment System Notice", which is not published on the public web (PSD-1 10.6.1). No official figure is published. | Determination PSD-1 — Licensing and Authorisation of Payment Service Providers in Namibia (Payment System Management Act, 2023; GG No. 8822, GN No. 1, effective on publication; repeals the 2024 PSD-1) — para 7 (application/authorisation), 8.6 (categories), 10.6 (capital), 12.2 (safeguarding) | 2026-01-06 |
| Namibia | Third-party payment service provider | Not published. The initial capital amount is set by the Bank in the "Payment System Notice", which is not published on the public web (PSD-1 10.6.1). No official figure is published. | Determination PSD-1 — Licensing and Authorisation of Payment Service Providers in Namibia (Payment System Management Act, 2023; GG No. 8822, GN No. 1, effective on publication; repeals the 2024 PSD-1) — para 7 (application/authorisation), 8.6 (categories), 10.6 (capital), 12.2 (safeguarding) | 2026-01-06 |
| Nigeria | Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) Authorisation | ₦100,000,000 shareholders' funds unimpaired by losses + refundable escrow ₦100m. (The PSS umbrella = ₦250m when applying for all three PSS licences at once — PSSP ₦100m + PTSP ₦100m + Super-Agent ₦50m.) Verbatim"N100,000,000.00 (shareholders' funds unimpaired by losses) … Escrow of refundable N100m into CBN PSP Share Capital Deposit Account No. 1000014009 … N250,000,000.00 … (for entities applying for the three (3) licences at a time: PSSP – N100m, PTSP – N100m, and Super Agent – N50m)" | CBN, Approved New Licence Categorization Requirements (Consolidated – 2021) — the per-category eligibility/capital/fee sheets giving effect to the circular "New Licence Categorizations for the Nigerian Payments System" (ref BPSD, issued 9 Dec 2020). | 2020-12-09 |
| Nigeria | Switching & Processing Licence Category | ₦2,000,000,000 shareholders' funds unimpaired by losses + refundable escrow ₦2bn Verbatim"N2,000,000,000.00 (shareholders' funds unimpaired by losses) … Escrow of refundable N2bn into CBN PSP Share Capital Deposit Account No. 1000014009" | CBN, Approved New Licence Categorization Requirements (Consolidated – 2021) — the per-category eligibility/capital/fee sheets giving effect to the circular "New Licence Categorizations for the Nigerian Payments System" (ref BPSD, issued 9 Dec 2020). | 2020-12-09 |
| Rwanda | Aggregator | FRW 100,000,000 (Reg 74/2023 Category II) Verbatim"An applicant wishing to be licensed under payment services category II, must have a minimum initial capital of not less FRW 100,000,000." | Regulation N° 74/2023 of 18/09/2023 governing payment service providers (Official Gazette n° 38 Bis of 25/09/2023) | 2023-09-25 |
| Seychelles | Payment service provider | Initial capital, held before grant, tiered by service (Schedule V, reaffirmed current by SI 99/2025 reg 15(3)): SCR 500,000 for a money-remittance service; SCR 1,000,000 for another payment service; SCR 5,000,000 for an operator of a payment, clearing or settlement system. Verbatim"Payment Service i) money remittance SCR 500,000 ii) other payment service SCR 1,000,000 Operator of a payment, clearing or settlement system SCR 5,000,000" | NPS (Licensing and Authorisation) Regulations 2014 — Schedule V (initial capital) + reg 5 (21-day completeness, 60-day decision) | 2014-12-29 |
| South Africa | System Operator | None in the Directive. Authorisation is criteria-based (PASA/PA criteria, Bank-approved), not capital-gated. Verbatim"meet the criteria as recommended by the relevant payment system management body, which criteria have been approved by the Bank in terms of section 4(2)(c)(i) of the NPS Act." | NPS Act 78 of 1998 — Directive No. 2 of 2007 (System Operators), GN 1111, Gazette 30261, 6 Sep 2007 | 2007-09-06 |
| South Africa | Third Party Payment Provider | Not published. None. No statutory minimum-capital figure for a TPPP — the Directive imposes conduct obligations only, not a capital-gated licence. | NPS Act 78 of 1998 — Directive No. 1 of 2007 (payments to third persons / Third Party Payment Providers), GN 1110, Gazette 30261, 6 Sep 2007 | 2007-09-06 |
| Tanzania | Payment Service Provider | Not published. The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations 2015 require an applicant to evidence adequate paid-up capital (reg 6(h): 'certified copy of certificates of paid up capital') but publish no numeric minimum-capital threshold for this category - the First Schedule sets licence fees only. | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
| The Gambia | Payment service provider | Ten Million dalasis (D10,000,000) core capital, held at the time of authorisation, for a payment service provider other than a licensed bank, financial institution or authorised e-money issuer (Mobile Money Regulation 2011 §5.1). Verbatim"A payment service provider, other than a licensed bank, financial institution and an authorised e-money issuer, shall, at the time of authorisation, hold a core capital of not less than Ten Million dalasis." | Regulation for the Provision of Mobile Money Services, 2011 — §4.1/4.2 (authorisation process, 30-day decision, LLC-in-Gambia, D10k fee), §4.5 (12-month renewal), §5.1/5.2 (D10M core capital + D5M security deposit), definitions (retail-transfer D10k cap; e-money issuer carve-out) | 2011-10-15 |
| Tunisia | Établissement de paiement | 5 000 000 dinars (TND) minimum capital for an établissement de paiement, per loi n° 2016-48 art. 32; the capital must be fully paid up on creation. Verbatim"les établissements de paiement et dont le capital ne peut être inférieur à 5 000 000 dinars" | Loi n° 2016-48 du 11 juillet 2016 relative aux banques et aux établissements financiers — art. 20 (EP perimeter), arts. 28–32 (agrément process + timeline), art. 31 (société anonyme), art. 32 (capital) | 2016-07-15 |
| Uganda | Payment Service Provider | Not published. Not separately prescribed for a general (non-EMI) PSP. Schedule 4's PSP category lists only the EMI class; "any other PSP" appears in the fee Schedule (3) with no capital figure in Schedule 4. | National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021 (S.I. 2021 No. 18) | 2021-02-26 |
| WAEMU BeninBurkina FasoCôte d'IvoireGuinea-BissauMaliNigerSenegalTogo | Établissement de paiement | XOF 100,000,000 for any of the payment services i)–vi); tiered by scope — aggregation-only XOF 10,000,000, initiation-only XOF 20,000,000, initiation + aggregation XOF 30,000,000 (Art 11); the agrément decision may fix a higher minimum Verbatim"il doit justifier d'un capital social au moins égal à 100 millions de francs CFA … il doit justifier d'un capital social au moins égal à 10 millions de francs CFA … au moins égal à 20 millions de francs CFA … au moins égal à 30 millions de francs CFA" | BCEAO, Instruction n°001-01-2024 relative aux services de paiement dans l'UMOA | 2024-01-23 |
| Zambia | Payment Aggregation Service Provider | Not published. No published number. Delegated to BoZ; applicant evidences initial capital but no ZMW minimum stated. | National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation | 2026-04-08 |
Each figure is the minimum capital as published in the cited instrument, in the statute's own currency — not legal or compliance advice, and not converted or ranked across currencies. A tiered floor is shown in full, never reduced to one tier. Where a figure is located but not yet verified, we show that it exists without publishing it. Verify current requirements with the regulator. Rules, not rates: amounts are the published requirement, never an exchange rate.
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04.
Related
What it takes, market by market