Loi n° 2021-14 relative aux services et moyens de paiement électronique (Law No. 2021-14 on Electronic Payment Services and Instruments) (Mauritania)

Law No. 2021-14 on electronic payment services and instruments is Mauritania's principal statute governing digital payments, payment institutions and electronic money. It provides the legal basis on which the Banque Centrale de Mauritanie (BCM) licenses and supervises payment service providers and electronic money issuers and drives the country's shift from cash toward electronic payments. Mauritania is not a WAEMU member; the ouguiya is its currency and the BCM is the regulator. (Note: the enacted date is recorded at year-level 2021; the precise date should be verified against the official journal.) Scope and applicability: The Law defines electronic payment services and instruments and the categories of providers, notably payment institutions (établissements de paiement) and electronic money establishments (établissements de monnaie électronique), alongside banks. The Central Bank of Mauritania and the Public Treasury are treated as electronic money issuers when they issue e-money, without being subject to certain provisions applicable to other payment service providers. The Law applies to the provision of electronic payment services and the issuance of e-money in Mauritania. Core obligations: Providers must be licensed/authorised by the BCM and meet conditions on corporate form, capital, governance and operational standards. Customer funds must be safeguarded against outstanding electronic money. The BCM is empowered to set, by regulatory texts, the detailed rules for the protection of users of payment services and holders of electronic money, and the technical and operational requirements that payment institutions and electronic money establishments must meet to ensure interoperability of services and infrastructure. AML/CFT, customer due-diligence, consumer-protection and data obligations apply. Supervision and enforcement: The Banque Centrale de Mauritanie authorises, regulates and supervises payment institutions and electronic money issuers, issues implementing regulations and technical standards (including for interoperability over the national GIMTEL infrastructure), monitors compliance and may impose sanctions. The Law is the cornerstone of Mauritania's electronic-payments and fintech framework, supported by the BCM's dedicated fintech and payment-infrastructure initiatives.

1. 1Defines electronic payment services and instruments and the categories of providers (payment institutions and electronic money establishments)
2. 2Requires Banque Centrale de Mauritanie licensing/authorisation of payment institutions and e-money issuers
3. 3Treats the Central Bank and Public Treasury as e-money issuers exempt from certain PSP provisions
4. 4Empowers the BCM to set rules protecting payment-service users and e-money holders
5. 5Mandates BCM-defined technical and operational requirements to ensure interoperability of services and infrastructure
6. 6Requires safeguarding of customer funds backing outstanding e-money, plus AML/CFT and consumer-protection compliance
7. 7Supervised and enforced by the BCM, including over the national GIMTEL payment infrastructure