E-Money Issuer — Malawi
The Malawi category mapped to e-money issuance.
Regulator: Reserve Bank of Malawi.
The « E-Money Issuers » section of the Reserve Bank of Malawi's « Licensed and Authorised Payment Service Providers » press release (as of 2023-06-30, under s.4(d) of the Payment Systems Act 2016), governed by the Payment Systems (E-Money) Regulations 2019 (GN 13/2019). There is no standing register page on rbm.mw — the licensee record lives in RBM press releases (report-the-record; a new edition → human re-mint). Name-keyed (no licence numbers). The E-Money Regulations 2019 set the D1 requirements (K50,000,000 paid-up capital, 100% trust-account float, Malawi-Kwacha issuance, no lending).
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-04 · unchanged since the previous check.
Licensed providers
2 entities| # | Provider | Status (as reported) | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airtel Mobile Commerce Limited (also written AMCL) | licensed | Reserve Bank of Malawi | 2023-06-30 |
| 2 | TNM Mpamba Limited | licensed | Reserve Bank of Malawi | 2023-06-30 |
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 | K50,000,000.00 (fifty million Malawi Kwacha / MWK) minimum paid-up capital for a non-bank e-money service provider (reg 6(1)(a); a minimum core capital of 100% of paid-up or 2% of outstanding e-money liabilities, whichever is higher, also applies under reg 6(1)(b)). Verbatim“a minimum paid up capital of fifty million Kwacha (K50,000,000.00)” | Payment Systems (E-Money) Regulations, 2019 (GN 13/2019; under s.43 of the Payment Systems Act 2016) — reg 5 (provision of e-money services), reg 6 (capital), reg 7 (trust account) | 2019-05-03 |
| Local presence / incorporation | An entity that does not conduct banking business in Malawi and wishes to provide e-money services must establish a separate legal entity for the operation and management of the e-money services (and may own not more than one such subsidiary). Verbatim“shall be required to establish a separate legal entity for the operation and management of the e-money services” | Payment Systems (E-Money) Regulations, 2019 (GN 13/2019; under s.43 of the Payment Systems Act 2016) — reg 5 (provision of e-money services), reg 6 (capital), reg 7 (trust account) | 2019-05-03 |
| Timeline | A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. | — | — |
| Local ownership | No such requirement: The E-Money Regulations 2019 impose no local-shareholding or nationality cap on an e-money service provider (the reg 6 exception is for banking-business entities, not an ownership cap). | Payment Systems (E-Money) Regulations, 2019 (GN 13/2019; under s.43 of the Payment Systems Act 2016) — reg 5 (provision of e-money services), reg 6 (capital), reg 7 (trust account) | 2019-05-03 |
| Fees | A value has been located but not yet verified, so we don't publish it here. | — | — |
| Ongoing obligations | An e-money service provider must at all times maintain in a bank trust account a balance equal to at least 100% of the total outstanding (or unclaimed) e-money balance of all holders, reconciled daily; e-money must be issued in Malawi Kwacha and redeemable at par, and the provider shall not grant loans from e-money funds. Verbatim“the total balance held in a trust account shall be equal to at least 100% of the total outstanding or unclaimed balance of all holders of the e-money under the service” | Payment Systems (E-Money) Regulations, 2019 (GN 13/2019; under s.43 of the Payment Systems Act 2016) — reg 5 (provision of e-money services), reg 6 (capital), reg 7 (trust account) | 2019-05-03 |
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:
- → Mobile Money Operator Licence Category (Nigeria)
- → E-Money Issuer (Kenya)
- → Small E-Money Issuer (Kenya)
- → Dedicated Electronic Money Issuer (Ghana)
- → Electronic Money Issuer (Tanzania)
- → Electronic Money Issuer (Uganda)
- → Electronic Money Institution (Zambia)
- → E-Money Issuer (Rwanda)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Benin)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Burkina Faso)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Côte d'Ivoire)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Guinea-Bissau)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Mali)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Niger)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Senegal)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Togo)
- → Payment Instrument Issuer (Ethiopia)
- → Établissement de paiement (Cameroon)
- → Établissement de paiement (Central African Republic)
- → Établissement de paiement (Congo-Brazzaville)
- → Établissement de paiement (Gabon)
- → Établissement de paiement (Equatorial Guinea)
- → Établissement de paiement (Chad)
- → Établissement de paiement offrant des produits et services de paiement (Morocco)
- → Mobile Financial Services (mobile money) (Zimbabwe)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (DR Congo)
- → Instituição de moeda electrónica (Mozambique)
- → Sociedade Prestadora de Serviços de Pagamentos (Angola)
- → Electronic Money (E-Money) participant (Namibia)
- → Mobile Money Issuers (Lesotho)
- → Mobile Money Service Provider (Eswatini)
- → Electronic Money Issuance (Botswana)
- → Mobile Money Service Provider (Somalia)
- → Établissement de paiement émetteur de monnaie électronique (Burundi)
- → Établissement de monnaie électronique (Djibouti)
- → Mobile money operator (The Gambia)
- → Electronic money issuer (Seychelles)
- → Instituição de moeda eletrónica (Cabo Verde)
- → Mobile money operator (Sierra Leone)