Règlement n° 25-02 du 14 avril 2025 relatif aux prestataires de services de paiement (Bank of Algeria Regulation No. 25-02 of 14 April 2025 on Payment Service Providers)

Regulation No. 25-02 of 14 April 2025, adopted by the Bank of Algeria (Banque d'Algérie), establishes the foundational legal framework for payment service providers (PSPs) in Algeria. It is the country's first dedicated regulatory regime for non-bank and bank entities providing digital payment services, and is a central plank of Algeria's effort to modernise its payments ecosystem and extend financial inclusion in a market where a majority of adults remain unbanked. The Regulation defines a payment service provider as an entity, whether a bank or a non-bank operator, authorised to provide services connected with the execution of payments, including transfers, direct debits, card payments, and the issuance or acquisition of electronic money. It sets the conditions for authorisation, the prudential and operational requirements applicable to PSPs, and the consumer-protection and fund-safeguarding obligations they must observe. Key requirements include a minimum capital of DZD 160 million and the establishment of the provider's head office on Algerian national territory. To safeguard customer funds, PSPs must hold user money in a dedicated escrow account opened with a bank, the balance of which is adjusted daily to match the aggregate balance of users, ring-fencing customer funds from the provider's own assets. The Regulation reinforces monetary sovereignty by requiring that all accounts be denominated exclusively in Algerian dinars. It introduces a tiered electronic-wallet system with three balance ceilings (DZD 100,000, DZD 500,000 and DZD 1,000,000), each subject to its own conditions, allowing proportionate KYC and risk controls. On consumer protection, PSPs must provide a detailed receipt for each transaction denominated in dinars, offer free balance and transaction-history consultation, and maintain accessible complaint-handling procedures. The Regulation was complemented in August 2025 by Instruction No. 06, which sets out detailed implementing and security requirements. Supervision and enforcement are exercised by the Bank of Algeria, which authorises PSPs, monitors compliance with capital, safeguarding, currency and consumer-protection rules, and may impose sanctions including withdrawal of authorisation. (Original language: French/Arabic.)

1. 1Creates Algeria's first dedicated authorisation regime for bank and non-bank payment service providers (PSPs)
2. 2Requires minimum capital of DZD 160 million and a head office on Algerian territory
3. 3Requires customer funds to be held in a bank escrow account adjusted daily to match aggregate user balances
4. 4Mandates that all accounts be denominated exclusively in Algerian dinars
5. 5Introduces a tiered e-wallet system with ceilings of DZD 100,000 / 500,000 / 1,000,000
6. 6Requires per-transaction dinar receipts, free balance/history access and accessible complaints procedures under Bank of Algeria supervision