What does it take to get a payment processing licence in Congo-Brazzaville?
To hold a payment processing licence in Congo-Brazzaville, you need the Établissement de paiement licence from Commission Bancaire de l'Afrique Centrale (COBAC). In Congo-Brazzaville, payment processing is licensed at the CEMAC (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale) level by the Commission Bancaire de l'Afrique Centrale (COBAC) — the same rule applies across all 6 member states. Published minimum capital: XAF 500,000,000, fully paid-up (the minimum released share capital of a payment institution). 2 entities currently hold a payment processing licence in Congo-Brazzaville. Full requirements — minimum capital, local presence, timeline, local ownership, fees and ongoing obligations — are set out below in each instrument's own words, with source and date; amounts are in the statute's own currency.
“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.
Activity id (as used by the Afriset MCP): fintech:PAYMENT_PROCESSING
Établissement de paiement
Commission Bancaire de l'Afrique Centrale (COBAC)| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | 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 |
| Local presence / incorporation | A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. | — | — |
| Timeline | A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. | — | — |
| Local ownership | No such requirement: The instruments set no local-ownership or nationality requirement | Règlement N°04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC relatif aux services de paiement dans la CEMAC (the EP framework; art. 23 who licenses) | 2018-12-21 |
| Fees | A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. | — | — |
| Ongoing obligations | Core-own-funds floor: base own funds at least 75% common equity; plus own funds ≥ 2% of the six-month daily-average e-money float (COBAC R-2019/02 arts. 4–6); a cantonnement (client-fund ring-fencing) contract is verified before a favorable avis (R. 04/18 art. 24) Verbatim“Les fonds propres de base des établissements de paiement sont constitués au minimum de 75 % par les capitaux propres nets. … et de 2 % de son encours moyen journalier des six derniers mois de la monnaie électronique en circulation, pour le service visé à l'alinéa 6 de l'article 3 du règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC.” | COBAC R-2019/02 relatif aux normes prudentielles applicables aux établissements de paiement (capital, own funds) | 2019-09-23 |
Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses. Where a value is located but not yet verified, we show that it exists but don't publish the figure. Verify directly with the regulator.
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · unchanged since the previous check.
Who already holds this licence?
2 entities are on the Commission Bancaire de l'Afrique Centrale (COBAC) register under the Établissement de paiement category — view the register .
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