Payment System Operator — Uganda
The Uganda category mapped to payment switching.
Regulator: Bank of Uganda.
Payment-systems-operator category under reg 11(1)(a) of the NPS Regulations 2021 (switching = the 'clearing systems or switches' class, reg 11(2)(b)), licensed under NPS Act (Cap. 59) s.9; operators develop payment-system rules under s.11 - infrastructure-only statutory definition, single-mapped (processing services are the separate PSP category, reg 11(1)(b); an entity holding both gets two facts). Contrast ZA, where one umbrella SO definition spans both.
Maintained: this official source is re-checked on a weekly schedule — last checked 2026-08-24 · unchanged since the previous check.
Licensed providers
9 entities| # | Provider | Status (as reported) | Source | Source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agent Banking Company of Uganda Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 2 | Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 3 | Interswitch East Africa (U) Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 4 | IOTEC Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 5 | Mcash Uganda Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 6 | Micropay Uganda Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 7 | MTN Mobile Money Uganda Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 8 | Pegasus Technologies Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
| 9 | Wave Transfer Limited | licensed | Bank of Uganda | not dated |
Reading the tables
- not dated
- — the official source publishes no date of its own. We show our own last-checked date instead of inventing one for the regulator.
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 | Clearing systems or switches: UGX 500,000,000. (Other PSO classes: settlement systems 250m; third-party systems 100m; funds-transfer large 1bn / medium 500m / small 100m.) Verbatim“(a) funds transfer systems (i) large funds transfer systems whose transaction value exceeds one hundred billion shillings per month. … 1,000,000,000/= (ii) medium funds transfer systems whose transaction value exceeds one billion shillings per month and does not exceed one hundred billion shillings per month. … 500,000,000/= (iii) small funds transfer systems whose transaction value does not exceed one billion shillings per month. … 100,000,000/= … (b) clearing systems or switches — 500,000,000/= … (c) settlement systems — 250,000,000/= … (d) third party systems — 100,000,000/=” | National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021 (S.I. 2021 No. 18) | 2021-02-26 |
| Local presence / incorporation | Objects must satisfy s.8(1); certified incorporation docs; foreign company notarised copy; premises inspected; NITA-U systems licence if operating on electronic platforms Verbatim“proof that the objects … are in accordance with section 8(1) … a certified copy of a systems licence from the National Information Technology Authority Uganda” | National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021 (S.I. 2021 No. 18) | 2021-02-26 |
| Timeline | Processing: within 60 days. Validity: valid until revoked. (Commence within 6 months or licence may be revoked — s.13(1)(c).) Verbatim“failed to commence … within six months” | National Payment Systems Act, 2020 (Cap. 59), consolidated | 2020-09-04 |
| Local ownership | No such requirement: No local-shareholding percentage prescribed | National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021 (S.I. 2021 No. 18) | 2021-02-26 |
| Fees | Clearing systems or switches: application UGX 3,000,000 · licence UGX 25,000,000 · annual UGX 25,000,000 Verbatim“clearing systems or switches — 3,000,000/= … 25,000,000/= … 25,000,000/=” | National Payment Systems Regulations, 2021 (S.I. 2021 No. 18) | 2021-02-26 |
| Ongoing obligations | Develop CB-approved payment-system rules (s.11); maintain settlement accounts (s.26); reserve collateral/liquid assets for settlement (s.39); annual fee by 31 Jan (s.15); 10-yr records (s.63); monthly/quarterly reporting (regs 22–23); risk-management + international standards, Schedule 6 (reg 32); CB approval for outsourcing/merger/cross-border/branch; maintain min capital, 90-day cure (reg 8(3)) Verbatim“An operator of a payment system shall, with the approval of the central bank, develop payment system rules … shall be maintained unimpaired by losses” | National Payment Systems Act, 2020 (Cap. 59), consolidated | 2020-09-04 |
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:
- → Switching & Processing Licence Category (Nigeria)
- → Payment Service Provider (Scheme) (Ghana)
- → To own, possess, operate, manage or control infrastructure for the provision of payment services (Kenya)
- → System Operator (South Africa)
- → Switching Service Provider (Tanzania)
- → Payment System Operator (Zambia)
- → Payment System Operators (Rwanda)
- → Payment System Operator (Switch Operator) (Ethiopia)
- → Card switching / national payment switch (Zimbabwe)
- → Opérateur de système de paiement monétique agréé (DR Congo)
- → Payment System Operator (Namibia)
- → Payment System Operator (Malawi)