What does it take to get a payment processing licence in Zambia?
To hold a payment processing licence in Zambia, you need the Payment Aggregation Service Provider licence from Bank of Zambia. Published timeline: Processing ≤ 90 days; validity indefinite; 18-month commencement. 3 entities currently hold a payment processing licence in Zambia. 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 Aggregation Service Provider
Bank of Zambia| Requirement | As published | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum capital | Not officially 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 |
| Local presence / incorporation | Same as EMI: body corporate, PACRA, ZICA auditor, local bankers; foreign-company route (s.14(2)). Verbatim“A person that is not a corporate shall not be issued with a licence under this Act. … may be granted to a foreign company registered in the Republic if the … foreign company is a payment service provider in the country where the … principal place of business is located…” | National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation | 2026-04-08 |
| Timeline | Processing ≤ 90 days; validity indefinite; 18-month commencement. Verbatim“…within a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt of the duly completed application. … A licence issued under this Act shall remain valid unless suspended or cancelled by the Bank or surrendered by a licensee. … A licensee shall commence a business … within eighteen months from the date a licence is granted…” | BoZ, Requirements for Designating a Payment System, February 2025 | 2025-02 |
| Local ownership | No local-shareholding %; majority-Zambian-resident board. Verbatim“(a) … a minimum of three (3) board members … (c) Majority of the number of appointed directors shall be resident in Zambia.” | BoZ, Requirements for Designating a Payment System, February 2025 | 2025-02 |
| Fees | Not officially published: Prescribed application fee + annual designation fee — no amounts published. | National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation | 2026-04-08 |
| Ongoing obligations | Hold merchant funds in an aggregation collection account at a bank/FI/EMI; balance held ≥ outstanding liabilities to customers; not deposit-taking; AML/KYC. Verbatim“hold funds on behalf of a merchant in an aggregation collection account in a bank, financial institution or an electronic money institution … ensure that the amount held … is not less than the outstanding liabilities to customers.” | National Payment System Act, 2026 (Act No. 5 of 2026) — enabling Act, categories + delegation | 2026-04-08 |
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.
Who already holds this licence?
3 entities are on the Bank of Zambia register under the Payment Aggregation Service Provider category — view the register .
Related
Everything Afriset holds on Zambia →
Related questions
This question, in other markets