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Fintech & payments regulation in Sierra Leone (2026)

Fintech and digital payments in Sierra Leone: licensing regime.

Sierra Leone operates a dedicated, in-force payments licensing regime: under the National Payment Systems Act 2022 no person may provide payment services or operate a payment system without a licence from the Bank of Sierra Leone, which also regulates e-money issuers and mobile money. The BSL runs a national interoperable switch (Salone Payment Switch / SaPS) with instant payments live since 2025 and a fintech regulatory sandbox, while a dedicated open-banking and BNPL framework is not yet established and a national FinTech Strategy was still being procured in late 2025.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Sierra Leone with other countries

Legal framework

National Payment Systems Act, 2022 (in force 23 June 2022) and the National Payment Systems Oversight Regulations, 2022, administered by the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) as licensing and oversight authority.

Key points: digital payments & fintech in Sierra Leone

  1. Primary law in force

    The National Payment Systems Act, 2022 provides that no person shall provide payment services or operate a payment system unless duly licensed by the Central Bank, and empowers the Bank of Sierra Leone to make implementing rules by statutory instrument.

    sierralii.gov.sl sierralii.gov.sl

  2. Regulator

    The Bank of Sierra Leone is the licensing and oversight authority for payment systems, payment service providers and e-money issuers, supplemented by the National Payment Systems Oversight Regulations, 2022.

    sierralii.gov.sl

  3. E-money / mobile money licensing

    E-money issuers must issue e-money against Leones or liquid assets acceptable to the Central Bank, redeem at par on request, and report float, loaded and redeemed values; mobile money is further governed by AML directives and guidelines from the Financial Intelligence Unit.

    fiu.gov.sl uncdf.org

  4. Instant-payment rail (SaPS)

    The Bank of Sierra Leone operates the Salone Payment Switch (SaPS); Phase 1 (ATM/POS interoperability) launched May 2023 and the real-time Instant Payment Service launched February 2025, with banks and mobile operators mandated to route domestic transactions through it.

    moice.gov.sl worldbank.org

  5. Fintech regulatory sandbox

    The BSL established a regulatory sandbox (reported as the second in Africa after Kenya), with four fintechs admitted to the first cohort, providing a controlled route for testing innovative payment and fintech products.

    uncdf.org

  6. Open banking / BNPL and forthcoming strategy

    There is no dedicated open-banking mandate or specific Buy-Now-Pay-Later regime; the Ministry of Finance issued a Request for Expression of Interest in September 2025 to develop a national FinTech Strategy under BSL oversight, indicating these areas remain under development.

    mof.gov.sl

Sources

  1. sierralii.gov.sl/akn/sl/act/2022/8/eng@2022-06-23
  2. sierralii.gov.sl/akn/sl/act/2022/8/eng@2022-06-23/source.pdf
  3. sierralii.gov.sl/akn/sl/act/si/2022/national-payment-systems-oversight/eng@2022-08-04
  4. fiu.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/DIRECTIVES-AND-GUIDELINES-FOR-MOBILE-MONEY
  5. uncdf.org/article/1502/sierra-leone-launches-first-mobile-financial-services-gu
  6. moice.gov.sl/sierra-leone-launches-instant-payment-service/
  7. worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2023/07/13/sierra-leone-taps-fast-payment-systems-to-
  8. uncdf.org/article/3635/four-fintechs-approved-to-enter-the-sierra-leone-sandbox
  9. mof.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Request-EXPRESSION-OF-INTEREST1-REOI-for-F

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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