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Fintech & payments regulation in Bhutan (2026)

Fintech and digital payments in Bhutan: licensing regime.

Bhutan has an in-force licensing regime for digital payments administered by the central bank, the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA). The Payment and Settlement Systems Rules and Regulations 2018 prohibit any person other than the RMA from operating a payment system or providing payment services without an RMA license, and a small number of banks and telecom-backed e-money/e-wallet providers operate under this framework. Instant payments run on RMA-operated rails (Bhutan Immediate Payment Service / Bhutan Financial Switch), while open banking and BNPL are not yet covered by dedicated rules.

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Legal framework

Payment and Settlement Systems Rules and Regulations 2018, issued by the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan under the RMA Act 2010 and the Financial Services Act of Bhutan 2011.

Key points: digital payments & fintech in Bhutan

  1. Regulator

    The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA), the central bank, is both the lead regulator and operator of national payment infrastructure, empowered by the RMA Act 2010 and the Financial Services Act of Bhutan 2011 to license financial service providers and oversee the payments system.

    en.wikipedia.org rma.org.bt

  2. Licensing requirement in force

    The Payment and Settlement Systems Rules and Regulations 2018 state that 'No person, other than Authority, shall set up and operate a payment system or provide payment services in Bhutan except under and in accordance with the terms of license issued by the Authority,' making an RMA license mandatory for all payment systems and service providers.

    rma.org.bt rma.org.bt

  3. E-money and e-wallet providers

    Licensed e-money issuers include telecom-backed B-Ngul (Bhutan Telecom) and e-teeru (TashiCell), aimed at financial inclusion of the unbanked; bank-operated digital wallets such as goBoB (Bank of Bhutan) and MyPay (Bhutan National Bank) also operate under the regime, with roughly four e-wallet providers active.

    rma.org.bt bnb.bt bob.bt

  4. Instant-payment rails

    Real-time retail payments run on the Bhutan Immediate Payment Service (BIPS) and the Bhutan Financial Switch (BFS), alongside the Cheque Truncation System, BIRTS and SWIFT, all operated and settled by the RMA's Department of Payment and Settlement Systems.

    rma.org.bt rma.org.bt

  5. AML oversight

    Payment service providers are subject to customer/business verification (KYC) obligations, with anti-money-laundering supervision handled by Bhutan's Department of Financial Intelligence in addition to RMA prudential oversight.

    rma.org.bt rma.org.bt

  6. Fintech sandbox and open banking / BNPL

    The RMA operates a fintech regulatory sandbox that, per public reporting, is undergoing a 2025-2026 IMF-supported review to strengthen governance; the ecosystem is small (fewer than ~10 players) and is largely central-bank or bank/telecom led, with no dedicated open-banking or BNPL regulatory framework yet in force.

    thefintechtimes.com rma.org.bt

Sources

  1. rma.org.bt/pssd/Rules/Payment%20&%20Settlement%20Systems%20Rules%20and%20Regulat
  2. rma.org.bt/bank/paymentsystem.jsp
  3. rma.org.bt/legislation/
  4. rma.org.bt/dpSystem/
  5. rma.org.bt/dpeSystem/
  6. rma.org.bt/media/Laws_By_Laws/Payment%20System%20Oversight%20Framework%202020.pd
  7. rma.org.bt/media/Publication/Payments%20&%20Settlement%20Systems/Annual%20Paymen
  8. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Monetary_Authority_of_Bhutan
  9. thefintechtimes.com/fintech-and-wider-digital-overview-of-the-kingdom-of-bhutan-2026/
  10. bnb.bt/mypay/
  11. bob.bt/personal-banking/digital-banking/gobob/

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 25 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026