Electronic Money Issuance — Botswana

The Botswana category mapped to e-money issuance.

The « Electronic Money Issuance » licence category on the Bank of Botswana Register of Licensed Electronic Payment Service (EPS) Providers — a non-cash payment instrument (tangible e.g. cards, or intangible e.g. e-wallets) that stores funds electronically in exchange for cash paid to the issuer (EPS Guidelines February 2022 §2.1(a)). Licensed under the Electronic Payment Services Regulations, 2019 (Bank of Botswana Act, Cap 55:01, s.43B). One of the register's three printed licence categories; ref-keyed on the printed licence number (ADR-025). The minimum capital for this category is P2,000,000 (EPS Guidelines §5.2).

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

10 entities

#	Provider	Status (as reported)	Source	Source date
1	Botswana Postal Services Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
2	Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
3	Code Fintech Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
4	Fastech-Epay Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
5	Mascom Wireless Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
6	Mobipay Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
7	Motshelo Mobile Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
8	Okp Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
9	Orange Money Botswana Proprietary Limited	licensed	Bank of Botswana	2023-05
10	Tylersoft Technologies 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	P2 000 000 (BWP) minimum initial capital for Electronic Money Issuance, 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 (as indicated in the acknowledgement letter). 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 (incorporation in Botswana is required; there is no Botswana-ownership percentage).	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 e-money issuer must maintain 100 per cent of the electronic money float (virtual money in circulation) as cash balances held at commercial bank(s) in Botswana, in a dedicated safeguarding account; the licence is renewable annually. Verbatim “maintain or keep 100 per cent of the electronic money float (virtual money in circulation) in the form of cash balances held at commercial bank(s) in Botswana.”	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:EMONEY_ISSUE:

Cross-border rules for Botswana →