How to Get a Payment Service Provider License in Namibia
Learn how to get a payment service provider license in Namibia, including Bank of Namibia licensing requirements, application process, required documentation, capital requirements, licensing fees and regulatory approval.
If you plan to operate as a payment service provider in Namibia, you generally need regulatory approval from the Bank of Namibia (BoN) before offering regulated payment services. The current framework is based primarily on the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023) and the Bank’s PSD-1 Determination on the Licensing and Authorisation of Payment Service Providers in Namibia.
For a broader overview of BoN regulatory requirements, see our Bank of Namibia registration guides.
The regulatory framework covers both bank and non-bank providers and includes services such as payment instruments, payment facilitation and third-party payment services. The Bank of Namibia is the single regulator responsible for licensing and overseeing payment service providers under the current framework.
For a non-bank applicant, obtaining a licence involves more than registering a company. You need to establish the appropriate legal entity, define the payment service you intend to provide, prepare a detailed business model and technical documentation, demonstrate appropriate governance and risk controls, satisfy capital requirements and complete the Bank’s regulatory assessment.
Who Regulates Payment Service Providers in Namibia?
The Bank of Namibia is responsible for licensing, regulating and supervising payment service providers in Namibia. This responsibility was consolidated under the Payment System Management Act, 2023, replacing the previous arrangement under which licensing responsibilities were shared with the Payments Association of Namibia.
The Act provides for the licensing and authorisation of payment instruments, payment service providers and payment system operators. It also regulates areas including electronic money and trust accounts.
Businesses interested in banking activities should distinguish PSP licensing from a commercial banking licence application in Namibia.
The Bank’s current legal framework includes the Payment System Management Act, regulations, determinations, directives and other regulatory instruments applicable to the National Payment System.
Businesses should therefore distinguish a payment service provider licence from other financial-sector registrations. For example, a business providing regulated lending, insurance, pension or other non-payment financial services may fall under a different regulator or regulatory framework.
What Is a Payment Service Provider?
A payment service provider is a person, including a banking institution, licensed under the Payment System Management Act to provide payment services specified under the Act.
The current PSD-1 framework identifies several categories for non-bank financial institutions, including:
- Payment instrument issuers
- Payment facilitators
- Third-party payment service providers
A third-party payment service provider can provide technological services for activities such as switching, routing, acquiring payment instructions, payment transaction processing and gateway services through merchant points of sale, e-commerce platforms, mobile applications and websites without holding funds.
Businesses considering ownership of a Namibian bank should follow a separate regulatory route, including the requirements covered in this guide to buying shares in a Namibian bank.
The exact classification matters because the licensing requirements can differ depending on what your business actually does.
Payment Services Covered by the Licensing Framework
The regulatory framework covers services relating to the facilitation of payment instructions, issuing and acquiring payment instruments, electronic money and other services connected with executing payments or transferring funds.
Examples of businesses that may need to assess the payment services licensing requirements include:
- Payment processors
- Payment gateways
- Payment facilitators
- Electronic money issuers
- Certain payment instrument issuers
- Third-party payment technology providers
- Businesses facilitating payment transactions
The Bank’s 2024 guidance also specifically addresses non-bank financial institutions, third-party payment service providers, payment facilitators, international online marketplaces and entities that hold funds.
A foreign banking institution considering a presence in Namibia should also distinguish PSP licensing from the process for opening a foreign bank representative office.
If your proposed product combines payments with virtual assets, lending, banking or another regulated financial activity, additional regulatory requirements may apply.
Step 1: Define Your Payment Service
The first part of the licensing process is determining exactly what your business intends to provide.
Do not start by simply searching for a generic “payment institution license.” The Bank expects an applicant to identify the payment service or services it intends to offer.
For example, your business might provide:
- A payment gateway for online merchants
- Payment processing infrastructure
- Payment facilitation
- A payment instrument
- Electronic money
- Third-party payment technology
- Merchant payment services
The proposed service should be clearly explained in the business model and technical documentation.
For innovative payment products that may not fit neatly into an existing regulatory category, businesses can also review the BoN FinTech Sandbox application process.
The 2026 PSD-1 Determination requires a non-bank applicant’s business plan to address matters including the payment product name, nature of the business, system and transaction flows, security features, deployment plans, user charges and target market.
Step 2: Register the Business
A prospective applicant should establish the appropriate business structure before completing the full licensing application.
Businesses can review the general process for registering a business in Namibia before proceeding with the regulatory application.
The Bank’s current requirements include a certified copy of the company’s incorporation or business registration documents, information about directors and officers, the company profile, organisational structure and contact details. Beneficial ownership information is also required.
Your business name and corporate structure should therefore be settled before submitting the substantive licensing package.
The appropriate structure may be a close corporation or private company depending on the circumstances; see the separate guide to close corporation registration in Namibia and the guide to private limited company registration in Namibia.
However, company registration itself does not give a business permission to provide regulated payment services. The Payment System Management Act prohibits the provision of unauthorised payment services, so corporate registration and payment services licensing are separate regulatory steps.
Step 3: Submit a Letter of Intent
For a non-bank financial institution, the 2026 PSD-1 Determination requires a formal application to the Bank.
Before the application is assessed, the applicant is required to send a letter of intent addressed to the Director responsible for the National Payment System. The letter must state the intention to offer payment services and be accompanied by a business plan or business model and schematics of the proposed payment service.
The Bank may review the submission and either arrange a meeting with the applicant to discuss the proposal and way forward or provide guidance on submitting an application for assessment.
This makes the initial engagement an important part of the application process.
Businesses requiring broader assistance with establishment and regulatory preparation can review business setup services in Namibia.
Step 4: Prepare the Required Documentation
A payment service provider application requires substantially more than a company registration certificate.
The required documentation can include:
- Memorandum and articles of association or equivalent incorporation documents
- Certificate of incorporation or business registration
- Information on directors, auditors and officers
- Company profile
- Organisational structure and organogram
- Contact details
- Beneficial ownership information
- Audited financial statements for existing companies
- Three-year pro forma financial statements for newly formed companies
- Other regulatory approvals, licences or permits
- Directors’ and executives’ identification documents
- Fitness and probity documentation
- Police clearance or certificate of conduct
- Tax good standing certificate
- Executive and board CVs
- Relevant qualifications
- Risk management framework
- User protection framework
- Draft user agreements
- Third-party contracts
- Business continuity arrangements
- Technical and security documentation
The current PSD-1 Determination allows the Bank to request additional information or documents it considers necessary.
Businesses researching financial-sector licensing registration should therefore avoid relying on a generic checklist from another regulated industry. Requirements depend on the type of financial service being provided.
For broader regulatory licensing information, the Bank’s published licensing starter pack and checklist can also be useful as background reading, although applicants should follow the payment-specific requirements applicable to their proposed service.
Applicants should also understand the current forms and fees for registering a private company and the requirements for registering a company in Namibia before preparing corporate documents.
Step 5: Establish Governance and Management Controls
Strong governance is a central component of payment services licensing.
The current PSD-1 framework requires information about the chief executive officer, executive management, board members and substantial shareholders. The Bank assesses fitness and probity and may interview directors and executives. The board of a non-bank financial institution must also satisfy requirements concerning non-executive and independent representation.
Applicants should therefore establish clear responsibility for:
- Executive management
- Board oversight
- Compliance
- Risk management
- Information security
- Financial management
- Customer or user protection
- Operational continuity
The application should demonstrate that the proposed organisation has the people and systems needed to operate a regulated payment business.
Directors should prepare carefully for the BoN fit and proper assessment, as governance and management suitability form part of the regulatory assessment.
Step 6: Develop a Risk Management Framework
Payment businesses face operational, financial, technological and regulatory risks.
The current requirements specifically contemplate risks such as:
- Operational risk
- Outsourcing and counterparty risk
- Money laundering and fraud risk
- Terrorism and proliferation financing risk
- Cybersecurity risk
- Reputational and legal risk
- Liquidity risk
- Credit risk
- Information technology infrastructure risk
- Data protection and privacy risk
The applicant must establish systems and controls for identifying, monitoring, managing and reporting these risks.
A credible risk framework should therefore correspond directly with the technology and payment flows described in the business plan.
Step 7: Establish User Protection Measures
Payment service providers also need appropriate consumer and user protection arrangements.
The PSD-1 requirements include a user protection framework addressing fraud, data privacy and other forms of user abuse. Users should receive accessible information about their rights and responsibilities, the payment services available and applicable fees or charges.
User agreements should also address matters such as:
- User identity
- Redemption rights where applicable
- Redemption conditions and fees
- Complaints and redress procedures
- The provider’s contact details
This means user protection should be incorporated into the product design rather than added only after the technical platform has been developed.
Step 8: Prepare Technical and Security Documentation
A payment service provider must demonstrate how its system actually works.
The business plan should explain the proposed payment infrastructure, transaction flows and security features. Depending on the service, the application may also need detailed information about payment instruments, settlement arrangements, interoperability, transaction processing and audit trails.
For businesses developing a new payment instrument, the separate BoN approval guide for a new payment instrument provides additional context.
For payment instrument issuers, PSD-1 specifically requires information about the instrument’s functionality, payment flows, settlement arrangements, security and operational reliability, interoperability and the complete transaction processing cycle.
Technical documentation should therefore explain the system clearly enough for the regulator to understand how funds and payment instructions move through the platform.
Businesses planning to participate directly in the national payment infrastructure may also need to understand how to join the BoN clearing and settlement system.
Step 9: Meet Capital Requirements
Capital requirements are an important part of the regulatory approval process.
The 2026 PSD-1 Determination states that a non-bank financial institution must hold initial capital at the time of licensing as determined by the Bank through the applicable Payment System Notice.
The Bank’s Payment System Notice No. 2, dated 27 June 2025, sets minimum capital requirements for specified categories of payment service providers. For example, it provides for an initial capital requirement of N$1.5 million for a non-bank electronic money issuer and N$500,000 for a micro electronic money issuer, subject to the specific regulatory classification and requirements.
Businesses considering e-money should also review the specific e-money issuer licence requirements in Namibia.
Capital requirements should therefore be assessed against the exact payment service rather than assuming one fixed amount applies to every PSP.
Step 10: Pay the Application and Licensing Fees
Licensing fees are separate from ordinary company registration costs.
The regulations made under the Payment System Management Act provide for a non-refundable application fee. The published 2023 fee regulations specified N$5,000 for an application for a payment service provider licence.
The current framework also provides for a licence fee after the applicant has satisfied the applicable provisional authorisation conditions and successfully completed the required pre-opening assessment. The applicable amount should therefore be confirmed against the current Payment System Notice and Bank instructions when preparing an application.
Step 11: Undergo the Bank’s Regulatory Assessment
After submission, the Bank assesses whether the applicant satisfies the applicable licensing requirements.
For non-bank financial institutions, the current PSD-1 process allows the Bank to grant provisional authorisation or decline the application. Where provisional authorisation is granted, the Bank may impose conditions that the applicant must satisfy before full licensing.
The Bank may also conduct an onsite pre-opening inspection after the applicant confirms that the provisional conditions have been fulfilled. Once the conditions and inspection requirements have been successfully completed, the applicant is required to pay the applicable licence fee before being licensed as a payment service provider.
The Bank demonstrated this two-stage approach in its January 2025 announcement concerning provisional authorisations for new payment service and virtual asset service entities. The Bank stated that provisional authorisation was subject to pre-authorisation conditions before a full operational licence could be granted.
Businesses combining payment services with virtual assets should separately assess the Namibia virtual asset service provider licence requirements and, where relevant, the rules for legally issuing crypto tokens in Namibia.
Payment Facilitator Requirements
If your business will operate as a payment facilitator, additional requirements apply.
The current PSD-1 Determination requires an applicant offering payment facilitation services to provide evidence of a merchant bank account with one or more Namibian licensed banking institutions.
Funds held for payment facilitation must be separated from the provider’s own assets and must not be commingled with specified trust-account funds. The framework also establishes requirements concerning the payment of funds to recipients, reconciliation and safeguarding of pooled funds.
This is particularly important for businesses intending to receive, pool or transmit merchant funds.
Payment Institution and E-Money Licensing
The phrase payment institution license is sometimes used generally when discussing payment regulation, but applicants should identify the exact category recognised under Namibia’s regulatory framework.
Electronic money is separately regulated. A person may not issue electronic money unless licensed or authorised as a payment service provider by the Bank of Namibia. Non-bank applicants intending to issue e-money must apply under PSD-1 and comply with the applicable capital and e-money requirements.
Businesses considering an e-money wallet should therefore analyse both the general PSP requirements and the specific rules applicable to electronic money.
Is NAMFISA the Regulator for Payment Service Providers?
The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA) regulates and supervises various non-banking financial institutions and maintains its own licensing and registration framework.
However, payment service providers regulated under the Payment System Management Act fall under the Bank of Namibia’s payment-system regulatory framework. The Bank expressly states that it is responsible for licensing, regulating and overseeing payment service providers.
NAMFISA remains relevant where a business’s activities fall within legislation administered by NAMFISA. Its Licensing & Registration resources are therefore useful for businesses assessing whether another financial activity requires NAMFISA registration.
For example, NAMFISA publishes application materials for regulated financial-market activities, including its CSD registration application form. This illustrates why the correct regulator should be identified according to the actual service being offered rather than the general label of “financial services.”
Other Financial and Business Licences
A payment business may potentially interact with other regulators depending on its activities.
For example, telecommunications or communications-related activities may involve the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia. CRAN’s licensing information explains its separate licensing process.
Likewise, businesses researching lending should not automatically apply the payment-services framework. A lending business has a different regulatory pathway, and external guidance such as this overview of obtaining a lending licence in Namibia should not be treated as a substitute for the requirements issued by the relevant Namibian regulator.
Third-party commercial guides can provide useful background, but the Bank of Namibia’s legislation, determinations, notices and formal regulatory communications should take priority when determining the applicable financial license Namibia requirements.
Businesses involved in foreign exchange should likewise distinguish PSP licensing from an authorised forex dealer licence or the requirements for starting a bureau de change in Namibia.
Foreign-exchange transactions can also involve separate BoN processes, including BoN Form A for foreign exchange imports, BoN Form E for capital outflows, approval for outward foreign investment, and approval for foreign business loans.
How Long Does the PSP Licensing Process Take?
There is no single guaranteed processing period that applies to every payment service provider application.
The timeline can depend on:
- The category of payment service
- Completeness of the application
- Complexity of the technology
- Governance arrangements
- Risk and compliance frameworks
- Capital requirements
- Third-party contracts
- Banking arrangements
- The need for additional information
- Provisional authorisation conditions
- Pre-opening inspection requirements
Applicants should therefore avoid assuming that paying an application fee automatically results in a licence within a particular number of days.
The current PSD-1 framework contemplates an assessment followed, where applicable, by provisional authorisation, fulfilment of conditions, possible onsite inspection and final licensing.
What Should You Prepare Before Applying?
A prospective PSP can improve the quality of its application process by preparing the following before approaching the Bank:
- Define the payment service you intend to offer.
- Determine the appropriate PSP category.
- Register the appropriate Namibian entity.
- Prepare a detailed business plan.
- Map the complete payment and transaction flows.
- Prepare technical architecture and security documentation.
- Establish governance and management structures.
- Prepare beneficial ownership information.
- Develop risk management and user protection frameworks.
- Prepare financial projections and demonstrate capital availability.
- Prepare third-party and banking agreements where required.
- Prepare the required regulatory forms and supporting documents.
- Confirm the applicable application and licensing fees.
- Submit the letter of intent and follow the Bank’s application instructions.
A foreign-owned applicant should also review whether it can establish the required local structure by reading how to register a company in Namibia as a foreigner, whether a foreigner can register a company in Namibia, and the requirements for registering a company in Namibia as a foreigner.
Remote applicants can also consider remote business setup in Namibia and a virtual office in Namibia where appropriate to their circumstances.
The Bank’s current PSD-1 Determination is particularly important because it sets out the general requirements as well as specific requirements for different payment-service categories.
Tax and Corporate Compliance After Registration
Payment service providers must consider tax and corporate compliance alongside financial-sector licensing.
Businesses can review the general NamRA registration process in Namibia and the process for registering a business for income tax.
Where applicable, businesses may also need a NamRA certificate of good standing, while non-resident transactions can create additional tax obligations such as non-resident withholding tax on services or non-resident shareholders tax.
Where an applicant needs to deal with NamRA through a representative, it may also need to understand special powers of attorney for Namibian tax matters.
If the PSP employs staff, PAYE employer registration may also become relevant.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Treating Company Registration as a Payment Licence
Registering a company does not automatically authorise it to provide regulated payment services.
Using the Wrong Regulator
Not every financial business is regulated in the same way. Payment services fall under the Bank of Namibia’s payment-system framework, while other activities may fall under NAMFISA or another authority.
Submitting an Incomplete Business Model
The regulator needs to understand the proposed service, transaction flows, security controls, users, charges and operational model.
Ignoring Capital Requirements
Capital requirements can differ according to the payment service and regulatory category. They should be incorporated into the financial plan before the application is submitted.
Treating Technology as Separate From Compliance
Security, operational resilience, data protection, fraud controls and risk management are integral parts of the regulatory assessment.
Starting Operations Before Authorisation
The Payment System Management Act provides for licensing and prohibits unauthorised payment services. A business should not assume that submitting an application permits it to start providing regulated services.
Additional Corporate Support
A payment service provider may need ongoing corporate administration after incorporation. This can include maintaining statutory records, governance documentation and other compliance requirements. Businesses can review company secretarial services when establishing an ongoing corporate compliance framework.
Where the proposed entity is instead a nonprofit organisation, the appropriate route is different, including NGO registration in Namibia.
For general enquiries concerning business establishment and regulatory support, businesses can also contact our Namibian business registration support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who issues a payment service provider licence in Namibia?
The Bank of Namibia is responsible for licensing, regulating and overseeing payment service providers under the Payment System Management Act, 2023.
2. How much does a PSP licence cost in Namibia?
The published regulations provide for a non-refundable application fee, with the 2023 regulations specifying N$5,000 for a payment service provider licence application. A separate licence fee can apply after the applicant satisfies the applicable conditions, so applicants should confirm the current fees with the Bank before submitting.
3. Can a newly registered company apply for a payment service provider licence?
Yes, the current framework expressly contemplates non-bank financial institutions applying to the Bank. Newly formed companies must, among other things, provide a three-year pro forma financial statement and satisfy the applicable governance, risk management, user protection, capital and other regulatory requirements.