Circulaire de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie n° 2020-11 du 18 mai 2020 relative aux conditions de fourniture des services de paiement mobile domestique (Central Bank of Tunisia Circular No. 2020-11 of 18 May 2020 on the conditions for the provision of domestic mobile payment services)

Central Bank of Tunisia (Banque Centrale de Tunisie, BCT) Circular No. 2020-11 of 18 May 2020 establishes the conditions for the provision of domestic mobile payment services in Tunisia. The Circular's stated purpose is to promote an ecosystem favourable to the development of digital payments and the reduction of cash, while establishing a structured and standardised framework for mobile payment. It applies to the principal actors in the mobile-payment chain: banks, payment institutions, the Tunisian Post Office (La Poste Tunisienne), and the managers of the mobile switch authorised by the BCT. The Circular sits alongside Circular No. 2018-16 on payment institutions and gives sector-specific effect, in the mobile context, to Tunisia's non-bank payments framework under Law No. 2016-48. It governs how authorised providers offer mobile payment to customers and, critically, how they interoperate: the framework is built around a centrally managed mobile switch so that mobile payments can be made across different providers rather than being locked within closed-loop systems. Core requirements address the conditions of access to and participation in the domestic mobile-payment scheme; the technical and operational standards for connecting to the authorised switch; customer onboarding and tiered know-your-customer rules; security, authentication and fraud-prevention controls for mobile transactions; interoperability obligations among participants; and consumer-protection measures including transparency on fees, transaction information and complaints handling. By standardising these conditions, the BCT aims to ensure a level playing field, protect users, and accelerate the adoption of digital payments as an alternative to cash, advancing financial-inclusion objectives. Supervision and enforcement are exercised by the BCT, which authorises the switch manager and participating providers, sets and updates the technical and conduct rules, and monitors compliance. As the principal mobile-payment instrument in Tunisia, Circular 2020-11 complements the payment-institution rules and is central to the country's retail digital-payments infrastructure. (Original language: French/Arabic.)

1. 1Establishes the conditions for providing domestic mobile payment services in Tunisia
2. 2Applies to banks, payment institutions, La Poste Tunisienne and the BCT-authorised mobile switch manager
3. 3Mandates interoperability through a centrally managed mobile switch rather than closed-loop systems
4. 4Sets technical, operational, security and authentication standards for mobile transactions
5. 5Requires tiered KYC customer onboarding and consumer-protection/fee-transparency measures
6. 6Places the switch manager and participating providers under BCT authorisation and supervision