What does it take to get a payment processing licence in Tanzania?
To hold a payment processing licence in Tanzania, you need the Payment Service Provider licence from Bank of Tanzania. Published timeline: Processing: 30 days; certificate within 7 working days of fee receipt. Validity: 5 years. Commence within 6 months of grant. 70 entities currently hold a payment processing licence in Tanzania. 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
Payment Service Provider
Bank of Tanzania| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | Not officially 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 |
| Local presence / incorporation | Body corporate incorporated under the laws of Tanzania; primary data centre in Tanzania; premises inspected pre-commencement Verbatim“A person eligible to operate a payment system shall be a body corporate incorporated under the laws of Tanzania … A payment system provider shall place its primary data center … in Tanzania” | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
| Timeline | Processing: 30 days; certificate within 7 working days of fee receipt. Validity: 5 years. Commence within 6 months of grant. Verbatim“within thirty days following receipt of an application … either grant or reject … … remain valid for five years unless suspended or revoked” | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
| Local ownership | No such requirement: No local/citizen shareholding %. Only nationality rule: appointing a non-Tanzanian senior manager follows the Non-Citizen (Employment Regulation) Act 2014. | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
| Fees | Licence/renewal by category (First Schedule, TZS): Inter-institutional 5,000,000 / 5,000,000; Intra-institution 1,000,000 / 1,000,000; Payment-system Data management 5,000,000 / 5,000,000; Remittance 1,000,000 / 1,000,000. Plus non-refundable application fee (reg 6(k), amount not itemised). Verbatim“Inter-institutional payment systems … Five Million / Five Million … Intra-institutions payment system … One Million / One Million … Payment system Data management … Five Million / Five Million … Remittance … One Million / One Million” | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
| Ongoing obligations | Settle net obligations in TISS; Board ≥3 (one payments-experienced); AML/CFT; risk-management to BIS/international standards; records ≥10 years; primary data centre in TZ; prior BoT approval for cross-border/branches/mergers/shareholding change; renewal ≥6 months before expiry; non-bank PSPs partner a bank/FI for financial services. Verbatim“keep them for a period of not less than ten years … shall not operate cross-border payment system services without a written approval … provide financial services in partnership with a bank or financial institution” | The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56) | not dated |
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?
70 entities are on the Bank of Tanzania register under the Payment Service Provider category — view the register .
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