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Établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique — Burundi

The Burundi category mapped to e-money issuance.

Regulator: Banque de la République du Burundi.

Banque de la République du Burundi licence for a payment institution issuing electronic money (établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique), under Circulaire n° 001/SP/2024 (édictée en vertu du Règlement n° 002/2024). E-money is a monetary claim on the issuer, stored electronically, issued against funds and convertible to cash (C001 art. 2). Minimum share capital 1 000 000 000 BIF (one billion, C001 art. 4, scan-verified @150 dpi), fully subscribed and paid in cash before the agrément. The issuer universe is wider than this register section — banks, MFIs and the Régie Nationale des Postes may also issue e-money (C001 art. 1) — so this category is the non-bank EP-EME issuer; a restricted-acceptance e-money regime needs a non-objection (art. 1 in fine). The head office must be in Burundi (C001 art. 10). The register lists the active issuers; a separate non-active list carries the withdrawn/suspended issuers with their permit numbers and native status reasons (report-the-record). lang fr.

Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · changed 2026-08-04.

Licensed providers

6 entities
# Provider Status (as reported) Licensed / granted Source Source date
1 ELLIS BUSINESS COMPANY (CASHTEL) licensed — Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09
2 IFARANGA withdrawn 2023-05-09 Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09
3 LACELL FINANCIAL SERVICE SPRL suspended 2020-02-01 Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09
4 LUMICASH S.U licensed — Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09
5 SAMA MONEY withdrawn 2021-12-01 Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09
6 SASAI FINTECH BURUNDI SA (ECOCASH) licensed — Banque de la République du Burundi 2026-02-09

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
1 000 000 000 BIF (un milliard de francs Burundi) minimum share capital, fully subscribed and paid in cash before the agrément (Circulaire 001/SP/2024 art. 4).
Verbatim
“Le capital social minimum d'un établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique est d'un milliard (1 000 000 000 BIF) de francs Burundi.”
Circulaire n° 001/SP/2024 relative aux activités des établissements de paiement émetteurs de monnaie électronique — art. 4 (capital), art. 5 (compte global), art. 8 (interdictions), art. 10 (siège social) 2024
Local presence / incorporation
Every e-money issuer must have its head office on the territory of Burundi (Circulaire 001/SP/2024 art. 10).
Verbatim
“Tout établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique doit avoir son siège social sur le territoire du Burundi.”
Circulaire n° 001/SP/2024 relative aux activités des établissements de paiement émetteurs de monnaie électronique — art. 4 (capital), art. 5 (compte global), art. 8 (interdictions), art. 10 (siège social) 2024
Timeline A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. — —
Local ownership No such requirement: Circulaire 001/SP/2024 imposes no local-shareholding or nationality cap on an e-money issuer. Circulaire n° 001/SP/2024 relative aux activités des établissements de paiement émetteurs de monnaie électronique — art. 4 (capital), art. 5 (compte global), art. 8 (interdictions), art. 10 (siège social) 2024
Fees A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. — —
Ongoing obligations
An e-money issuer may not issue e-money without a prior deposit of an equivalent amount in cash (100% backing); it may not take deposits from the public nor grant digital credit (Circulaire 001/SP/2024 art. 8); and it must safeguard funds in a compte global at a bank / MFI / the Régie Nationale des Postes (art. 5).
Verbatim
“Il est interdit à tout établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique d'émettre de la monnaie électronique sans dépôt préalable d'un montant en espèces correspondant.”
Circulaire n° 001/SP/2024 relative aux activités des établissements de paiement émetteurs de monnaie électronique — art. 4 (capital), art. 5 (compte global), art. 8 (interdictions), art. 10 (siège social) 2024

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 Burundi →