National Payment Systems Act, 2022 (Act No. 8 of 2022) (Sierra Leone)

The National Payment Systems Act, 2022 (Act No. 8 of 2022, assented 23 June 2022) is Sierra Leone's principal statute governing payment, clearing and settlement systems and digital payments. It modernises and replaces the earlier Payment Systems Act, 2009, providing an updated legal basis for the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) to license and oversee payment service providers, electronic money issuers and operators of payment systems. Sierra Leone is a WAMZ member with its own currency (the leone) and is not part of WAEMU/BCEAO. Scope and applicability: The Act applies to the establishment, operation, designation, regulation and supervision of payment, clearing and settlement systems, and to the participants and providers operating within them, including banks, mobile money operators, electronic money issuers, payment service providers, switches and other fintech intermediaries. It gives the BSL express authority over the national payment system and the digital financial services built on it. Core obligations: Persons operating a payment system or providing payment/e-money services must be licensed or authorised by the BSL and meet licensing conditions covering corporate form, capital, governance and operational and technology standards. The Act provides for settlement finality and the irrevocability of payment instructions in designated systems, oversight and designation powers for the BSL, safeguarding of customer/e-money funds, interoperability, consumer protection, and AML/CFT compliance. It underpins BSL subsidiary guidelines (including the Guidelines for Mobile Money Services) and supports initiatives such as the national switch and the regulatory sandbox. Supervision and enforcement: The Bank of Sierra Leone designates and oversees payment systems, licenses and supervises providers, issues directives and standards, and may impose sanctions for non-compliance, including suspension or revocation of licences. By consolidating oversight in a single modern statute, the Act is the foundation of Sierra Leone's digital-payments and fintech regulatory framework, replacing the 2009 Act.

1. 1Replaces the Payment Systems Act, 2009 as Sierra Leone's principal payments statute (assented 23 June 2022)
2. 2Empowers the Bank of Sierra Leone to establish, designate, regulate and oversee payment, clearing and settlement systems
3. 3Requires BSL licensing/authorisation of payment service providers, e-money issuers and system operators
4. 4Provides for settlement finality and irrevocability of payment instructions in designated systems
5. 5Mandates safeguarding of customer/e-money funds, interoperability, consumer protection and AML/CFT compliance
6. 6BSL may issue directives and standards and impose sanctions, including licence suspension or revocation
7. 7Statutory basis for BSL mobile money guidelines, the national switch and the regulatory sandbox