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Fintech & payments regulation in Cape Verde (2026)

Fintech and digital payments in Cape Verde: licensing regime.

Cape Verde has a dedicated, in-force licensing regime for payment institutions and electronic money institutions, established by Legislative Decrees 8/2018 and 9/2018 (both of 28 November 2018) and operationalised by Banco de Cabo Verde Notice (Aviso) 6/2019. Banco de Cabo Verde is the authorising and supervisory authority for payment systems and these institutions. The framework is comparatively modern and Portuguese/EU-influenced, though it does not yet include a dedicated open-banking mandate or specific BNPL rules, and a broader fintech-regulation effort (a BCV sector survey) began in early 2025.

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Legal framework

Banco de Cabo Verde (BCV) supervises payments under Decreto-Legislativo n.º 8/2018 (provision of payment services / issuance, distribution and redemption of electronic money) and Decreto-Legislativo n.º 9/2018 (legal regime for access to and activity of payment institutions and electronic money institutions), with the authorisation process, minimum capital, own funds and safeguarding rules detailed in BCV Aviso n.º 6/2019.

Key points: digital payments & fintech in Cape Verde

  1. Regulator

    Banco de Cabo Verde (BCV) is the central bank, payment-system overseer and prudential supervisor of payment institutions and e-money institutions; its oversight powers (information-gathering, inspection, sanctions) derive from its Organic Law (arts. 19 and 21) and the Financial System Framework Law.

    bcv.cv bcv.cv

  2. Payment-services / e-money law

    Decreto-Legislativo n.º 8/2018 (28 Nov 2018) sets the legal regime for providing payment services and for the issuance, distribution and redemption of electronic money in Cape Verde by legally authorised entities.

    bcv.cv

  3. Licensing / access regime

    Decreto-Legislativo n.º 9/2018 (28 Nov 2018) governs access to and the activity of payment institutions and electronic money institutions, i.e. the licensing/authorisation regime itself.

    bcv.cv

  4. Authorisation & minimum capital

    BCV Aviso n.º 6/2019 regulates the authorisation procedure and tiered minimum share capital: roughly CVE 2,000,000 (transfer-only), CVE 5,000,000 (payment execution as intermediary) and CVE 10,000,000 (full payment services) for payment institutions, and CVE 20,000,000 for domestic electronic money institutions, plus own-funds and client-funds safeguarding requirements.

    bcv.cv bcv.cv

  5. Payment rails / market

    Domestic retail payments run largely on the interbank Vinti4 card/ATM/POS network operated by SISP (Sociedade Interbancária e Sistemas de Pagamentos), which BCV reports on in its periodic Payment System Reports; there is no separate dedicated open-banking statute yet.

    bcv.cv sisp.cv

  6. Recent developments (2025)

    Cape Verde amended the BCV Organic Law in 2025 (an IMF-supported reform strengthening BCV governance and independence, raising its capital), and BCV launched a fintech-sector survey in early 2025 to inform future regulation of digital financial services; Cabo Verde is at the research stage on a possible CBDC.

    imf.org state.gov

Sources

  1. bcv.cv/pt/SistemadePagamentos/Paginas/SistemadePagamentos.aspx
  2. bcv.cv/pt/SistemadePagamentos/Institui%C3%A7%C3%B5es%20de%20Pagamento/Pagina
  3. bcv.cv/pt/SistemadePagamentos/Institui%C3%A7%C3%B5es%20de%20Moeda%20Eletr%C3
  4. bcv.cv/pt/O%20Banco/Sala%20de%20Imprensa/ComunicadosdeImprensa/Paginas/Comun
  5. bcv.cv/SiteCollectionDocuments/2021/Cabo%20Verde's%20Payment%20System%20Repo
  6. sisp.cv/
  7. imf.org/en/news/articles/2026/02/07/pr26036-cabo-verde-imf-concl-2025-aiv-con
  8. state.gov/reports/2025-investment-climate-statements/cabo-verde

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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