The Bank of Namibia (BoN) has taken over the licensing and regulation of payment service providers, a responsibility previously held by the Payments Association of Namibia (PAN).
The changes are meant to provide regulatory certainty and reduce the administrative load on payment service providers by eliminating the need to interact with two regulators as well as to bring the domestic national payment system in line with international best practices.
This is also in line with the recently promulgated Payment System Management Act 14 of 2023 (the PSM Act).
The Act has been enhanced to make the central bank responsible for licensing, regulating, and overseeing payment service providers, which include electronic money issuers, payment instrument issuers, payment intermediation service providers, as well as payment facilitators and processors.
“Other enhancements of the PSM Act include the enhanced powers of the Bank to set technical standards and impose conditions to ensure that fees and charges related to the provision of payment services, payable by a user, are transparent and in the public interest,” Director: Strategic Communications and International Relations at BoN, Kazembire Zemburuka said.
The Act further empowers the Bank to conduct inspections and access information necessary to oversee the efficient functioning of the national payment system.
According to the Bank, PAN will continue to exist as an advisory association as well as a collaborative platform for its members within the national payment system.
The Association will also, with the approval of the Bank, establish criteria for its members to participate in payment systems and forums, as well as make and administer technical rules concerning payment instructions and payment instruments.
“Further to that, innovative services such as the issuance of different types of payment instruments deemed as legal tender in Namibia were incorporated into the payment service offerings,” said Zemburuka.
The BoN Deputy Governor, Leonie Dunn said the amendments in the new law enable for a more diverse and innovative payment system that encourages new forms of payment methods in Namibia.
“As such, our payments landscape will continue to operate in an ever-evolving environment that promotes competition and manages risks in the ecosystem,” she said.
