Règlement N° 002 de 2024 relatif aux services de paiement et activités des établissements de paiement (Regulation No. 002 of 2024 on Payment Services and the Activities of Payment Establishments) (Burundi)

Regulation No. 002 of 2024 on payment services and the activities of payment establishments, issued by the Banque de la République du Burundi (BRB), is the principal instrument in Burundi's modernised 2024 framework for digital financial services. It sets out the licensing, prudential and conduct regime for payment service providers and payment establishments (établissements de paiement), the entities, including telecom-affiliated providers, that deliver mobile money and other digital payment services in a fast-growing market. As of 2025, several electronic-money-issuing payment establishments operate in Burundi (for example LUMICASH, SASAI FinTech Burundi and CASHTEL), alongside banks and microfinance institutions offering digital payment services. Scope and applicability: the Regulation applies to payment service providers and payment establishments operating in Burundi. It defines the categories of payment service and establishment, and requires authorisation from the BRB to provide payment services or operate as a payment establishment. Core obligations: applicants and licensees must meet minimum capital and fit-and-proper requirements, maintain sound governance, risk-management, technology and security arrangements, and comply with AML/CFT obligations. Payment establishments must safeguard customer funds, segregate them from their own resources, and observe operational, reporting and consumer-protection requirements. The Regulation governs the provision of payment services, the conduct of payment establishments, interoperability, and reporting to the BRB. It operates together with Circular No. 001 of 2024 on the activities of electronic-money-issuing payment establishments and Regulation No. 003 of 2024 on banking and payment-service agents. Supervision and enforcement: the BRB licenses and supervises payment establishments through reporting, inspection and audit, and may impose conditions, corrective measures and sanctions, including suspension or revocation of authorisation, for non-compliance. As the core component of Burundi's 2024 payment-services framework, the Regulation formalises and supervises the country's expanding mobile money and digital financial services sector.

1. 1Requires BRB authorisation to provide payment services or operate as a payment establishment
2. 2Defines categories of payment service and payment establishment
3. 3Minimum capital, fit-and-proper, governance, risk-management, technology, security and AML/CFT requirements
4. 4Safeguarding and segregation of customer funds held by payment establishments
5. 5Operational, interoperability, reporting and consumer-protection obligations
6. 6BRB supervision through reporting, inspection and audit, with power to condition, sanction, suspend or revoke authorisation