Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the BNR licence, including banking and payment rails.
Get a payment license in Rwanda.
Rwanda licenses payment service providers under Law No 061/2021 of 14 October 2021 governing the payment system, with the operating detail in Regulation No 74/2023 of 18 September 2023. The National Bank of Rwanda runs four categories: FRW 300 million of capital for a large e-money issuer, FRW 100 million for a small e-money issuer and payment aggregator, FRW 30 million for money remittance and FRW 50 million for payment initiation and account information services. Licence fees are FRW 5 million, 3 million, 1 million and 2 million in the same order. Twenty-seven providers held a licence in November 2025, nine of them e-money issuers, with RSwitch the single payment system operator on the list. Neither the law nor the regulation prints a period for the decision.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Rwanda in brief
Four categories, four fees, and a regulation that prices each one.
Law No 061/2021 of 14 October 2021 governing the payment system is the frame, and Regulation No 74/2023 of 18 September 2023 governing payment service providers fills it in. Article 16 of the law makes anyone who wants to provide payment services apply in writing for the type of service concerned, and leaves the procedure and the form to the central bank. Article 23 requires a permanent place of business or a registered office in Rwanda before services start. Article 17 exempts licensed banks and microfinance institutions already authorised to provide payment services. The four categories and their capital, published by the central bank in its licensing requirements, are Category I for a large e-money issuer at not less than FRW 300,000,000, Category II for a small e-money issuer and payment aggregator at FRW 100,000,000, Category III for a money remittance service provider at FRW 30,000,000 and Category IV for payment initiation and account information services at FRW 50,000,000. Licence fees run FRW 5 million, 3 million, 1 million and 2 million in the same order, and every category files the same 25 documents.
Two gaps have to be stated rather than papered over. The law prints no decision period, and the regulation's articles on assessing completeness and granting a licence exist by heading without a readable number of days, so the timetable is managed through the file rather than promised from a statute. And the safeguarding detail sits in articles the trilingual gazette does not serve as readable text: Article 28 of the regulation requires user funds to be segregated in a trust or collective account separate from the provider's own money, but the trusteeship, escrow and insurance mechanics of the preceding articles are confirmed for your case with the central bank. What is public is the market. The November 2025 list of licensed institutions counts 27 payment service providers, among them nine e-money issuers, eight aggregators and eighteen money-remittance providers, with RSwitch as the only payment system operator. eKash is the interoperable instant retail rail, with 15 participants at December 2024 and 20 million transactions worth FRW 78 billion; RIPPS is the real-time gross settlement system. Corporate tax is 28%, VAT 18%. We run the file from Dubai and plan on seven to twelve months.
Law No 061/2021 and Regulation No 74/2023 set four categories: large e-money issuer at FRW 300,000,000, small e-money issuer and aggregator at FRW 100,000,000, money remittance at FRW 30,000,000, initiation and account information at FRW 50,000,000. Licence fees are FRW 5, 3, 1 and 2 million in the same order.
The law prints no decision period, and the safeguarding detail sits in articles the trilingual gazette does not serve as readable text; both are confirmed for your case. Twenty-seven providers were licensed in November 2025, nine of them e-money issuers, with RSwitch the only system operator. eKash is the instant rail, RIPPS the RTGS.
The routes
E-money and aggregation, or remittance and account access.
The central bank prices four categories separately and asks the same 25 documents from each. The permissions you need decide the capital and the fee, and one company may hold more than one. We fix the route first, then build once.
Categories I and II for e-money and aggregation; III and IV for remittance and account access.
01 - E-MONEY AND AGGREGATION
Category I and Category II
Category I is the large e-money issuer, at not less than FRW 300,000,000 of capital with a licence fee of FRW 5,000,000. Category II covers the small e-money issuer and the payment aggregator doing merchant acquiring and aggregation, at FRW 100,000,000 with a fee of FRW 3,000,000.
Category I is the large e-money issuer, at not less than FRW 300,000,000 of capital with a licence fee of FRW 5,000,000. Category II covers the small e-money issuer and the payment aggregator doing merchant acquiring and aggregation, at FRW 100,000,000 with a fee of FRW 3,000,000.
- ✓Category I - large e-money issuer, capital FRW 300,000,000
- ✓Category II - small e-money issuer and payment aggregator, FRW 100,000,000
- ✓Licence fees FRW 5,000,000 and FRW 3,000,000
- ✓User funds segregated in a trust or collective account (Article 28)
- ✓Agents recognised by Article 29 of Law 061/2021
- ✓Nine e-money issuers on the November 2025 list
02 - REMITTANCE AND ACCOUNT ACCESS
Categories III and IV - FRW 30M and 50MMoney remittance, payment initiation, account information
Category III is the money remittance service provider at FRW 30,000,000 of capital and a FRW 1,000,000 fee - the cheapest entry the central bank offers. Category IV covers payment initiation and payment account information services at FRW 50,000,000 with a FRW 2,000,000 fee.
Category III money remittance FRW 30,000,000 with a FRW 1,000,000 fee; Category IV initiation and account information FRW 50,000,000 with a FRW 2,000,000 fee.
- ✓Category III - money remittance, capital FRW 30,000,000
- ✓Category IV - initiation and account information, FRW 50,000,000
- ✓Licence fees FRW 1,000,000 and FRW 2,000,000
- ✓Eighteen money-remittance providers licensed in November 2025
- ✓The same 25-document file as every other category
- ✓Banks and authorised microfinance institutions exempt (Article 17)
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. The licence fee is published per category; it, the segregation arrangements and substance are itemised in your quote.
Why Rwanda
Four priced categories and a supervisor with 27 licensees.
Rwanda has 14,418,145 residents and a payment system rebuilt on a 2021 statute. The central bank publishes the capital, the fee and the document list for every category, and the register is short enough to read in one sitting.
✓
Capital matched to the activity
FRW 300 million for a large e-money issuer down to FRW 30 million for money remittance, with initiation and account information at FRW 50 million in between.FRW 30M to 300M across four categories.
✓
The fee is published
FRW 5 million, 3 million, 2 million and 1 million by category, printed in the central bank's licensing requirements alongside the capital.FRW 1M to 5M, printed by the regulator.
✓
One national switch
RSwitch is the only payment system operator on the November 2025 list of licensed institutions, which makes the connectivity question short.RSwitch is the only system operator.
✓
eKash and RIPPS
eKash carried 20 million transactions worth FRW 78 billion in 2024 across 15 participants, 10 of them banks; RIPPS settled 5,362,516 transactions worth FRW 3.4 trillion.Instant retail and RTGS in place.
✓
One document set
Twenty-five documents whatever the category, from the application letter to the Governor through the three-year business plan to the AML and consumer-protection policies.Twenty-five documents, every category.
✓
Tax at 28%, with regimes beneath it
Corporate tax fell from 30% to 28% for 2024. Approved international company headquarters pay 0%, and holding companies, special purpose vehicles and global trading companies pay 3% on foreign-sourced income.Down from 30% since 2024.
How it compares
How Rwanda differs from its neighbours.
Rwanda asks more capital than Kenya for an e-money licence and less than Ghana, publishes its fees where the others do not, and prints no decision period at all. The honest comparison is below.
Rwanda vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Rwanda | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | FRW 300M / 100M / 50M / 30M | KES 5M-50M Kenya · GHS 0.8M-20M Ghana |
| Licence fee | FRW 5M / 3M / 2M / 1M, published | Published in Ghana · not in Kenya |
| Decision clock | Not printed in the law or the regulation | 90 days Ghana · 60 working days Mauritius |
| Corporate tax | 28% · VAT 18% | 30% Kenya · 25% Ghana · 15% Mauritius |
Capital
RwandaFRW 300M / 100M / 50M / 30M
Other jurisdictionsKES 5M-50M Kenya · GHS 0.8M-20M Ghana
Licence fee
RwandaFRW 5M / 3M / 2M / 1M, published
Other jurisdictionsPublished in Ghana · not in Kenya
Decision clock
RwandaNot printed in the law or the regulation
Other jurisdictions90 days Ghana · 60 working days Mauritius
Corporate tax
Rwanda28% · VAT 18%
Other jurisdictions30% Kenya · 25% Ghana · 15% Mauritius
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rwanda | Categories I-IV (BNR) | 28% · VAT 18% | FRW 30M-300M · fee FRW 1M-5M |
 Kenya | PSP · e-money issuer (CBK) | 30% · VAT 16% | KES 5M / 20M / 50M · no clock |
 Ghana | DEMI · PSP tiers (Bank of Ghana) | 25% · VAT 15% + levies | GHS 0.8M-20M · 90 days |
 Mauritius | PSP · e-money (BoM) · FSC PIS | 15% · no dividend WHT | MUR 1M-50M · 60 working days |
RwandaLicense typeCategories I-IV (BNR)
Taxation28% · VAT 18%
RequirementsFRW 30M-300M · fee FRW 1M-5M
KenyaLicense typePSP · e-money issuer (CBK)
Taxation30% · VAT 16%
RequirementsKES 5M / 20M / 50M · no clock
GhanaLicense typeDEMI · PSP tiers (Bank of Ghana)
Taxation25% · VAT 15% + levies
RequirementsGHS 0.8M-20M · 90 days
MauritiusLicense typePSP · e-money (BoM) · FSC PIS
Taxation15% · no dividend WHT
RequirementsMUR 1M-50M · 60 working days
Before you apply
Requirements for the BNR licence.Requirements for the licence.
The law sets the duty to be licensed and the presence test; the regulation sets the capital and the file. The list below is what a passing application contains.
01
A company with a permanent place of business or a registered office in Rwanda, in place before any payment service starts, as Article 23 of Law 061/2021 requires.
02
A written application for the type of payment service concerned under Article 16, on the form and through the procedure the central bank sets.
03
Capital at the category figure under Article 23 of Regulation 74/2023 - FRW 300,000,000, 100,000,000, 50,000,000 or 30,000,000 - evidenced rather than pledged.
04
The licence fee for the category: FRW 5,000,000 for Category I, 3,000,000 for Category II, 1,000,000 for Category III and 2,000,000 for Category IV.
05
The application letter addressed to the Governor, the certificate of incorporation and a programme of operations describing exactly what the company will run.
06
A three-year business plan with projections, and the governance and risk arrangements that match the size of the operation being proposed.
07
Security and information-technology documentation, a business continuity plan, and consumer-protection arrangements with the customer terms and conditions.
08
AML and counter-terrorist-financing policies, with the officer and reporting lines named in the file rather than promised after licensing.
09
Segregation of payment service users' funds in a trust or collective account separate from the provider's own funds under Article 28; the trusteeship, escrow and insurance detail is not served as readable text by the gazette, so it is confirmed with the central bank for your case.
10
Agent arrangements where the model uses them, on the footing Article 29 of Law 061/2021 gives to a person acting on behalf of a payment institution.
01
Permanent place of business or registered office in Rwanda.
02
Written application for the service type (Article 16).
03
Capital FRW 300M / 100M / 50M / 30M by category.
04
Licence fee FRW 5M / 3M / 2M / 1M.
05
Letter to the Governor, incorporation, programme of operations.
06
Three-year business plan, governance and risk arrangements.
07
Security and IT documentation, continuity plan, consumer protection.
08
AML policies with the officer and reporting lines named.
09
User funds segregated in a trust or collective account.
10
Agent arrangements under Article 29 where used.
Reflects Law No 061/2021 of 14 October 2021, Regulation No 74/2023 of 18 September 2023 and the National Bank of Rwanda's published licensing requirements and November 2025 list of licensed institutions, as of 2026.Law No 061/2021; Regulation No 74/2023; BNR licensing requirements and the November 2025 list of licensed institutions.
How it works
From first call to the BNR licence.
01
Route and strategy
Category I, II, III or IV, or a combination; capital, fee and budget fixed in writing.Category and combination fixed in writing.
02
Company and capital
Rwandan company formed with a registered office and permanent place of business, capital raised to the Article 23 figure.Formed in Kigali, capital raised.
03
The 25-document file
Application to the Governor, programme of operations, three-year plan, governance, security, continuity, consumer protection and AML policies.Plan, governance, security, AML, terms.
04
BNR review
Completeness assessed and the licence decided under the regulation, with no period printed. Plan on seven to twelve months end to end.No printed period; 7-12 months realistic.
05
Licence and launch
Fee paid, licence granted, segregated account live, eKash and RSwitch connectivity opened and reporting started.Fee paid, account live, rails connected.
Quick facts
RegulatorNational Bank of Rwanda
LawLaw 061/2021 · Regulation 74/2023
LicenceCategories I to IV
CapitalFRW 300M / 100M / 50M / 30M
Licence feeFRW 5M / 3M / 2M / 1M
Client fundsTrust or collective account (Article 28)
Register27 payment service providers, November 2025
Corporate tax28% · VAT 18%
Neither the law nor the regulation prints a number of days for the decision. What the central bank does publish is the document list, and a file that answers all 25 items at first filing is the only lever an applicant has.
Your Rwanda desk
Run from our East Africa desk.
Prifinance - East Africa desk
Dubai · coordinating Rwandan mandates
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower, Dubai
01
Rwandan company formation
A company with a registered office in Kigali and a permanent place of business, capitalised to the category figure before the application goes in.Kigali office, capital at the category figure.
02
The BNR file
All 25 documents drafted as one set - programme of operations, three-year plan, governance, security, continuity, consumer protection and AML - and defended through the review.All 25 documents as one set.
03
Segregation and rails
The trust or collective account for user funds arranged under Article 28, and connection to eKash and RSwitch planned with the licence rather than after it.Trust account, eKash and RSwitch.
04
Substance in Kigali
Managers the central bank will accept, an AML officer, premises and the reporting calendar running from the day the licence is granted.Managers, AML officer, premises.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
London
United Kingdom
7 Bell Yard
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of payment companies in Rwanda.
Corporate tax at 28% since 2024, VAT at 18% with financial and insurance services exempt, and 15% withholding on dividends - with several special regimes underneath the headline rate.
Corporate tax 28%
Income generated up to 2023 was taxed at 30%; the rate is 28% from 2024. That is the rate a licensed payment service provider works from.From 2024; 30% up to 2023.
Relief for a listing
A newly listed company pays 20% for five years where at least 40% of its shares are sold to the public, or 25% where at least 30% are.20% or 25% for five years.
Zero-rate regimes
Approved international company headquarters and regional offices pay 0%, as do microfinance entities for their first five years.Approved headquarters and regional offices.
The 3% regime
Pure holding companies, special purpose vehicles, collective investment schemes, global trading companies and intellectual property companies pay 3% on foreign-sourced income.Holdings and SPVs on foreign income.
VAT 18%
The rate on other goods and services, with financial and insurance services exempt. Which parts of a payment product fall inside that exemption is settled before pricing.Financial and insurance services exempt.
Dividends 15%
Withholding on dividends is 15%, with distributions between resident companies outside it, along with unrealised foreign exchange gains and income paid to holders of units in collective investment schemes.Not between resident companies.
Tax summary
Corporate tax28% from 2024 (30% up to 2023)
Listing relief20% or 25% for five years
Special regimes0% approved headquarters · 3% holding and SPV
VAT18% · financial and insurance services exempt
Dividend withholding15%
Between residentsDividends between resident companies excluded
*Figures as of 2026 per the Rwanda Revenue Authority. Treaty and regime positions are assessed per structure.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Rwandan company, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, licensed provider.
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Rwanda · BNR
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The Rwandan payment licence, answered.
What licence does a payment business need in Rwanda?+
A licence from the National Bank of Rwanda under Law No 061/2021 and Regulation No 74/2023, in one of four categories: large e-money issuer, small e-money issuer and payment aggregator, money remittance service provider, or payment initiation and account information services.
How much capital is required?+
Article 23 of Regulation 74/2023, as published by the central bank: not less than FRW 300,000,000 for Category I, FRW 100,000,000 for Category II, FRW 30,000,000 for Category III and FRW 50,000,000 for Category IV.
What does the licence cost?+
The central bank publishes the fees with the capital: FRW 5,000,000 for Category I, FRW 3,000,000 for Category II, FRW 1,000,000 for Category III and FRW 2,000,000 for Category IV.
How long does the central bank take?+
The law prints no decision period, and the regulation's articles on completeness and on granting a licence give no readable number of days. Plan on seven to twelve months from first call, and treat a complete first filing as the only lever you have.
How is customer money protected?+
Article 28 of Regulation 74/2023 requires user funds to be held in a trust or collective account separate from the provider's own funds. The trusteeship, escrow and insurance detail sits in articles the trilingual gazette does not serve as readable text, so we confirm it with the central bank for your case.
Do I need a Rwandan presence?+
Yes. Article 23 of Law 061/2021 requires a permanent place of business or a registered office in Rwanda before payment services start. Banks and microfinance institutions already authorised to provide payment services are exempt from licensing under Article 17.
What documents does the application need?+
Twenty-five, whatever the category: the application letter to the Governor, the certificate of incorporation, a programme of operations, a three-year business plan, governance and risk arrangements, security and IT documentation, a continuity plan, consumer protection, AML policies and the customer terms.
How large is the licensed market?+
The November 2025 list of licensed institutions counts 27 payment service providers, including nine e-money issuers, eight aggregators and eighteen money-remittance providers. Entities hold more than one permission, so the categories overlap. RSwitch is the only payment system operator.
How are payment companies taxed?+
Corporate tax at 28% since 2024, VAT at 18% with financial and insurance services exempt, and 15% withholding on dividends other than those paid between resident companies. Special regimes give 0% to approved headquarters and 3% to holding and special purpose vehicles on foreign-sourced income.
Why Rwanda rather than Kenya or Ghana?+
Rwanda publishes both the capital and the fee for each category, taxes at 28% and has a single national switch to connect to. Kenya has the far deeper mobile-money market and lower entry capital; Ghana gives you 90 days in the statute. Groups that want a small, legible East African base with predictable costs pick Kigali.
Which licence?+
BNR licence in one of four categories.
Capital?+
FRW 300M / 100M / 50M / 30M.
Fee?+
FRW 5M / 3M / 1M / 2M by category.
How long?+
No period in the law; 7-12 months realistic.
Client money?+
Trust or collective account (Article 28).
Presence?+
Registered office or place of business in Rwanda.
Documents?+
Twenty-five, whatever the category.
Market size?+
27 providers in November 2025, nine e-money issuers.
Taxes?+
28% CIT, VAT 18%, dividends 15%.
vs Kenya / Ghana?+
Published fees and a legible register; smaller market.
Client notes
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Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the National Bank of Rwanda or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.