Central Bank (Mobile Money) Regulations, 2019 (Somalia)

The Central Bank (Mobile Money) Regulations, 2019, issued by the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) and subsequently amended (2020 and 2021), are the formal instrument that brought Somalia's large, telecom-driven mobile money sector under a regulatory and licensing framework. Mobile money is exceptionally important in Somalia: services such as Hormuud Telecom's EVC Plus (launched 2011) had tens of millions of transactions and millions of users operating largely informally, in a context of limited cash infrastructure. These Regulations created a licensing regime to formalise that ecosystem. In a landmark step, the CBS issued Somalia's first mobile money licence to Hormuud Telecom in February 2021, formally bringing EVC Plus within regulation and CBS oversight. This finding directly answers the brief's question on Somalia: a formal regulatory instrument behind the informal mobile money ecosystem does exist, the Central Bank (Mobile Money) Regulations, 2019 (as amended), and licensing under it has begun. Scope and applicability: the Regulations apply to any person providing mobile money services in Somalia. Applications for a mobile money licence are made to the CBS, and a licence granted is not transferable to another person. Core obligations: licensed mobile money providers must perform customer due diligence (KYC), set and observe transaction limits, monitor transactions for suspicious activity, and report regularly to the Financial Reporting Center. The Regulations address safeguarding of customer funds, agent management, operational and security requirements, consumer protection and AML/CFT compliance, reflecting the Financial Action Task Force-aligned objectives of bringing high-volume mobile money flows into a supervised, transparent framework. Supervision and enforcement: the CBS licenses and supervises providers, may impose conditions and require reporting, and may take corrective action against non-compliant licensees. By formalising licensing and AML/CFT obligations, the Regulations mark the foundational step in regulating one of Africa's most mobile-money-dependent economies, in a jurisdiction of otherwise limited institutional capacity.

1. 1Apply to any person providing mobile money services in Somalia; licence applications made to the Central Bank of Somalia
2. 2Mobile money licences are non-transferable
3. 3Mandatory customer due diligence (KYC), transaction limits and suspicious-transaction monitoring
4. 4Regular reporting to the Financial Reporting Center
5. 5Safeguarding of customer funds, agent management, operational/security and consumer-protection requirements
6. 6First licence issued to Hormuud Telecom (EVC Plus) in February 2021; amended in 2020 and 2021