Fintech & payments regulation in Lesotho (2026)
Fintech and digital payments in Lesotho: licensing regime.
Lesotho has an in-force licensing regime for payments and e-money under the National Payment System Act 2014, operationalized by the 2017 Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments Regulations. Any payment service provider or e-money/mobile-money issuer must be licensed by the Central Bank of Lesotho before operating, and an interoperable national instant-payment switch (LeSwitch) provides cross-bank and bank-to-mobile-money settlement. There is no dedicated open-banking or BNPL framework, and crypto-assets remain outside the CBL's defined regulatory perimeter.
Legal framework
National Payment System Act 2014 and Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments) Regulations 2017, administered by the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL)
Key points: digital payments & fintech in Lesotho
Primary law and regulator
The National Payment System Act 2014 designates the Central Bank of Lesotho as the regulator and overseer of payment systems, with authority to license, supervise and set standards for payment service providers and system operators.
E-money / payment instrument licensing
The Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments) Regulations 2017 require any issuer of electronic payment instruments — including e-money and mobile money — to obtain a Certificate of Registration from CBL, with conditions on local incorporation, governance, capital adequacy and AML/CFT compliance.
Mobile money market
Vodacom Lesotho's M-Pesa and Econet Telecom Lesotho's EcoCash operate as licensed e-money issuers under CBL oversight; CBL revised KYC/CDD requirements and transaction limits effective 1 September 2024 to tighten controls.
Instant-payment rail (LeSwitch)
Lesotho's interoperable national payment switch, LeSwitch, was piloted in 2022 and officially launched on 20 March 2024, enabling near-real-time interoperable payments across banks, mobile-money providers and ATMs; POS card-payment functionality was rolled out in May 2025.
Open banking and BNPL
There is no dedicated open-banking framework or specific BNPL regime in Lesotho; consumer credit, including any deferred-payment products, falls under general financial-institution and consumer-credit rules rather than a tailored fintech statute.
Crypto-assets carve-out
Crypto-assets and virtual-asset service providers are not within the CBL's payment-systems licensing perimeter; the CBL has issued public warnings that crypto activities are unregulated and risky, and no comprehensive virtual-asset law is yet in force.
Timeline of decisions
- Law · officialNational Assembly Portfolio Committee Endorses Payment Systems Bill 2025
The Portfolio Committee on the Economic and Development Cluster issued its report recommending passage of the Payment Systems Bill 2025, which had passed second reading on 5 May 2026. The bill is designed to repeal the 2014 Act, create a level playing field for fintech entrants, and align the CBL's supervisory mandate with international standards — it would require all payment service providers to hold a single CBL licence renewed every five years.
National Assembly of Lesotho
- Law · officialFinance Minister Presents Payment Systems Bill 2025 for Second Reading
Finance Minister Rets'elisitsoe Matlanyane moved the Payment Systems Bill 2025 for second reading in the National Assembly, marking the formal legislative push to replace the decade-old 2014 Act with a modernised framework that explicitly accommodates fintech innovation and levels the playing field between banks and non-bank payment providers.
Lesotho News Agency (LENA)
- DecisionLeSwitch Expands to Interoperable POS Card Payments Nationwide
The Central Bank of Lesotho and four commercial banks (FNB Lesotho, Lesotho PostBank, Nedbank Lesotho, Standard Lesotho Bank) launched POS card payment functionality under LeSwitch, enabling cardholders to pay at any merchant terminal regardless of the card-issuing bank. This completed the core interoperability roadmap and is expected to reduce domestic transaction fees over time.
Lesotho NewsDesk
- Decision · officialLeSwitch National Payment Switch Officially Launched
The Central Bank of Lesotho officially launched LeSwitch, the country's first interoperable national payment switch, enabling real-time electronic fund transfers across banks, mobile network operators, and ATMs in a single domestic hub. The launch reduced Lesotho's dependence on international card networks for domestic transactions and signalled a new infrastructure era for digital payments.
Central Bank of Lesotho
- Guidance · officialCBL Issues Revised Mobile Money KYC/CDD Requirements and Transaction Limits
The Central Bank of Lesotho updated its Know-Your-Customer and Customer Due Diligence requirements and transaction ceilings for mobile money services, effective 1 September 2023. The revision tightened AML/CFT compliance thresholds, introduced tiered KYC levels, and responded partly to findings from the 2022 ESAAMLG mutual evaluation.
Central Bank of Lesotho
- Decision · officialESAAMLG/FATF Mutual Evaluation Report Exposes Fintech Supervision Gaps
The Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group published Lesotho's Mutual Evaluation Report (on-site visit December 2022), finding widespread non-compliance with FATF recommendations. Critically, authorities were unable to determine whether any virtual asset service providers were operating domestically, exposing a regulatory blind spot in digital payments and crypto oversight that the Payment Systems Bill 2025 is intended to address.
FATF / ESAAMLG
- DecisionLeSwitch Fast-Payments Pilot Launched
The Central Bank of Lesotho piloted the first phase of the LeSwitch national payment switch, focusing on instant interbank credit transfers. The pilot connected participating commercial banks and mobile network operators in a controlled environment ahead of the full public launch in March 2024.
Standard Lesotho Bank
- Guidance · officialCBL Press Statement: Cryptocurrencies Not Legal Tender, No Regulatory Protection
The Central Bank of Lesotho issued a formal public statement clarifying that cryptocurrencies are neither recognised as legal tender nor as foreign currency under Lesotho law, and that CBL offers no consumer protection for crypto-related losses. The CBL also warned that promoting cryptocurrencies as investment products could violate Sections 27–28 of the Capital Market Regulations 2014.
Central Bank of Lesotho
- Law · officialPayment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments) Regulations 2017 Enacted
The CBL issued detailed subsidiary regulations under the 2014 National Payment Systems Act, requiring any issuer of electronic payment instruments (including mobile money) to hold a CBL licence, be locally incorporated, and comply with rules on capital adequacy, agent networks, outsourcing, fund safeguarding, financial integrity, and consumer protection. These regulations operationalised the full licensing regime for e-money in Lesotho.
Central Bank of Lesotho (Government Gazette)
- Law · officialNational Payment Systems Act No. 8 of 2014 Enacted — Cornerstone Fintech Law
Parliament enacted the National Payment Systems Act, conferring on the Central Bank of Lesotho explicit legal authority to license, regulate, and supervise payment system operators, payment service providers, and electronic money issuers. This Act became the primary statutory foundation for fintech licensing in Lesotho and remained the governing law for over a decade until the 2025 Bill.
Central Bank of Lesotho
- Guidance · officialCBL National Payment System Guidelines on Mobile Money Take Effect
The Central Bank of Lesotho's Guidelines on Mobile Money came into force on 1 July 2013, establishing the first formal regulatory framework for non-bank-based mobile payment models in Lesotho. The guidelines covered authorisation, operational requirements, agent rules, consumer protection, AML/CFT obligations, and gave existing operators a six-month grace period to comply.
Central Bank of Lesotho (via DFS Observatory)
- Law · officialCentral Bank of Lesotho Act 2000 — Establishes Foundational Payments Oversight Mandate
The Central Bank of Lesotho Act 2000 came into force, granting the CBL considerable autonomy and defining its monetary-stability mandate. Section 6(h) specifically empowered the CBL to oversee national payment systems, providing the constitutional foundation for all subsequent digital payments regulation, from the 2013 mobile money guidelines to the 2014 National Payment Systems Act.
Central Bank of Lesotho
Sources
- centralbank.org.ls/payment-systems-2/
- centralbank.org.ls/images/Legislation/NPS/PAYMENT_SYSTEM_REGULATIONS_2017.pdf
- centralbank.org.ls/wp-content/uploads/Payment_System_Oversight_Framework_2018.pdf
- dfsobservatory.com/sites/default/files/Central%20Bank%20of%20Lesotho%20-%20Guidelines%20
- standardlesothobank.co.ls/lesotho/personal/About-us/press-releases/press-release-lesotho-nation
- lesotho.co.ls/2025/05/lesotho-launches-pos-card-payment-functionality-under-leswitc
- afi-global.org/sites/default/files/publications/2018-08/AFI_Lesotho_Report_AW_digita
- zmayetlaw.co.ls/navigating-fintech-and-digital-payment-regulation-in-lesotho-a-legal-
- facebook.com/CentralBankofLesotho/photos/revised-mobile-money-kyccdd-requirements-
- openbanking.ng/open-banking-in-lesotho/
- zmayetlaw.co.ls/digital-money-real-risk-the-legal-reality-of-crypto-and-fintech-in-le
- afriwise.com/blog/digital-money-real-risk-the-legal-reality-of-crypto-and-fintech-
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 28 Jun 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026