Objective
To ensure safe, efficient and inclusive payment systems that enable reliable transfers of funds between individuals, businesses, Government and financial institutions.
Roles of the Bank
- Operator – maintains settlement accounts for licensed institutions and provides settlement services for interbank obligations.
- Overseer – issues rules, standards and guidance for payment services, including e-money and mobile money, and monitors compliance.
- Catalyst – promotes interoperability, financial inclusion and adoption of secure digital payments.
Scope
- Retail payments – cash, card, mobile money and other e-money instruments offered by licensed providers.
- Interbank clearing & settlement – arrangements for clearing obligations between institutions and final settlement at the Bank.
- Government payments – salary, supplier and transfer payments executed through BOSL accounts and approved channels.
- Remittances – oversight of domestic and cross-border money transfer services operated by licensed entities.
Risk Management & Standards
- Legal basis provided by the Bank’s regulatory mandate and specific instruments (e.g., e-money and licensing regulations).
- Requirements for governance, capital and safeguarding of customer funds by payment service providers.
- Operational and cyber-security standards; incident reporting and business-continuity expectations.
- Consumer protection principles: transparency of fees, clear dispute resolution, and redress mechanisms.
Interoperability & Inclusion
- Encourages interoperable transfers among banks, microfinance institutions and mobile money service providers.
- Promotes accessible payment points and agent networks to serve households and SMEs.
Reporting
Licensed providers submit regular statistics on transaction volumes and values, outages, fraud trends and customer funds safeguarding. The Bank uses these data to monitor systemic risks and inform policy decisions.
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