Guidelines for Mobile Money Services, 2015 (Bank of Sierra Leone)

The Bank of Sierra Leone's Guidelines for Mobile Money Services (2015) were Sierra Leone's first dedicated mobile financial services rules, launched in November 2015 to provide an enabling environment for mobile money and advance financial inclusion. They sit beneath the payments statute (originally the Payment Systems Act 2009, now the National Payment Systems Act 2022) and set the operational standards for mobile money operators. Sierra Leone is a WAMZ member outside WAEMU/BCEAO; the leone is its currency and the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) is the regulator. Scope and applicability: The Guidelines apply to mobile money service providers and electronic money issuers, including mobile network operators delivering services through partnerships with, or as, licensed institutions. They are designed to let mobile operators work within the financial-sector perimeter and collaborate with financial institutions to deliver a broad range of digital financial services. Core obligations: The Guidelines require BSL approval to offer mobile money services and establish requirements for safeguarding customer funds, in particular, a trust account must warehouse the total outstanding balance of e-money issued at any given time, so that customer funds are fully backed and ring-fenced. Providers must identify dormant e-money accounts and report their particulars (including customer names and individual balances) to the BSL. The Guidelines also address agent networks, KYC/customer due diligence and AML/CFT, transaction limits, consumer protection and disclosure, and reporting to the central bank. Supervision and enforcement: The Bank of Sierra Leone supervises mobile money operators, monitors trust-account backing and reporting, and may take corrective and enforcement action. The Guidelines remain the operational rulebook for mobile money, now read together with the National Payment Systems Act 2022, which provides the overarching statutory framework and BSL licensing powers.

1. 1First dedicated mobile financial services rules in Sierra Leone (launched November 2015)
2. 2Require Bank of Sierra Leone approval to provide mobile money services
3. 3Mandate a trust account warehousing the total outstanding balance of e-money issued at any given time
4. 4Require identification and reporting of dormant e-money accounts (with customer names and balances) to the BSL
5. 5Address agent networks, KYC/customer due diligence and AML/CFT, transaction limits and consumer protection
6. 6Operate beneath the payments statute (now the National Payment Systems Act 2022) and BSL supervision