Account Based Payment Services — Botswana

The Botswana category mapped to payment processing.

The « Account Based Payment Services » licence category on the Bank of Botswana EPS register — placing of cash on, or withdrawal of cash from, a payment account; credit transfer; direct debit; debit and credit card payments (EPS Guidelines February 2022 §2.1(b)). Mapped to PAYMENT_PROCESSING. Licensed under the EPS Regulations, 2019. Ref-keyed on the printed licence number. Minimum capital P1,000,000 (EPS Guidelines §5.2). Smart Switch (Botswana) sits in this category — a per-entity SWITCHING refinement candidate only, never asserted as the national switch from the name (there is no separate SWITCHING register category).

Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · unchanged since the previous check.

Source recency: Bank of Botswana's official list is dated 2023-05 — the most recent official publication; verify current status directly with Bank of Botswana. Entries below are as reported by that list — not a statement of current status.

Licensed providers

7 entities

#	Provider	Status (as reported)	Source	Source date
1	Botswana Life Insurance Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
2	Cellulant Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
3	PAA Capital Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
4	Paym8 Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
5	Realpay Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
6	Smart Switch (Botswana) Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
7	Virtual Card Services Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05

Licence requirements

What it takes to hold this licence, as stated in the cited official instruments. Capital and fees are shown in the currency the statute itself uses.

Requirement	As published	Source	Source date
Minimum capital	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
Local presence / incorporation	An EPS provider must be incorporated in Botswana in accordance with the Companies Act, and the application must be accompanied by certified copies of the certificate of incorporation and company extract. Verbatim “An EPS provider must be incorporated in Botswana in accordance with the Companies Act.”	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
Timeline	The Bank advises the applicant of its decision within three (3) months of receipt/date of application. Verbatim “The Bank will advise the applicant of its decision within three (3) months of receipt or date of application as indicated in the acknowledgement letter.”	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
Local ownership	No such requirement: The EPS Regulations 2019 and the Guidelines impose no local-shareholding or nationality cap on an EPS provider.	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
Fees	Initial application fee P1 000.00 (excluding VAT); licence fee P10 000.00 (excluding VAT) due on approval and annually thereafter. Verbatim “an initial application fee amounting to P1 000.00 (excluding VAT). A licence fee of P10 000.00 (excluding VAT) shall become due upon approval of the application and annually thereafter.”	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
Ongoing obligations	An EPS provider must open a dedicated cash account with a commercial bank for the safeguarding of customer funds (separating EPS customer funds from other business funds), and the licence is renewable annually. Verbatim “an EPS provider shall open a dedicated cash account with a commercial bank for the safeguarding of customer funds.”	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

Requirements as published in the cited instruments — not legal or compliance advice. 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.

The equivalent in other markets

Categories mapped to the same normalized activity — fintech:PAYMENT_PROCESSING:

Cross-border rules for Botswana →