Switching Service Provider — Tanzania

The Tanzania category mapped to payment switching.

Explicit NPS Act 2015 category: switching/routing/data-management services to payment system providers - infrastructure-only definition, single-mapped. The national switch (TIPS) is BoT-operated; licensed private switches may be few or zero (honest empty if so).

Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-24.

No entries: The NPS Annual Report 2025 annexes identify no switching-service licensees separately; the national retail switch (TIPS) is BoT-operated.

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	Not officially published: The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations 2015 require documentary evidence of paid-up capital (reg 6(h)) but publish no numeric minimum-capital threshold for the switching/data-management category - the First Schedule sets licence fees only.	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated
Local presence / incorporation	As PSP: body corporate incorporated under the laws of Tanzania; primary data centre in Tanzania. Verbatim “A person eligible to operate a payment system shall be a body corporate incorporated under the laws of Tanzania … A payment system provider shall place its primary data center … in Tanzania”	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated
Timeline	As PSP: 30-day processing; 5-year validity; commence within 6 months. Verbatim “within thirty days following receipt of an application … either grant or reject … … remain valid for five years unless suspended or revoked”	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated
Local ownership	No such requirement: No local/citizen ownership %; non-Tanzanian senior management per Non-Citizen Act 2014.	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated
Fees	Licence Fee TZS 5,000,000; Renewal TZS 5,000,000 ("Payment system Data management"; "Inter-institutional payment systems" is also 5m/5m). Verbatim “Payment system Data management … Five Million / Five Million … Inter-institutional payment systems … Five Million / Five Million”	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated
Ongoing obligations	Same PSP regime: TISS net settlement, AML/CFT, risk management to BIS standards, 10-year records, primary data centre in TZ, BoT approval for cross-border/branches/mergers, renewal ≥6 months prior. Verbatim “keep them for a period of not less than ten years … shall not operate cross-border payment system services without a written approval … provide financial services in partnership with a bank or financial institution”	The Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 (GN under the NPS Act 2015; s.56)	not dated

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:SWITCHING:

Cross-border rules for Tanzania →