• The Bank is currently undertaking a review of mobile money charges.
• Specific regulations that govern the conduct of mobile money are National Payment System Directives on e-money Issuance.
• Any person intending to issue e-money shall require authorization by Bank of Zambia.

Bank of Zambia (BoZ) says it is currently undertaking a review of the mobile money charges.
Responding to Money FM’s Press Query, Bank Assistant Director-Communications Besnat Mwanza said the exercise is similar to the one conducted in 2020 for banks which led to the Central Bank to issue the Prohibition Against Unwarranted Charges and Fees and Regulations of Specific Charges Directives.
Ms. Mwanza stated that the Bank decided to separate the two exercises due to the difference in their operating models because mobile money service providers mainly rely on transaction fees for revenue, while banks mainly depend on intermediation of funds.
She stated that the conduct of mobile money also known as electronic money or e-money is a regulated activity that falls under the Central Bank.
“The specific regulations that govern the conduct of mobile money are the National Payment System Directives on Electronic money Issuance. These directives were issued under the National Payment Systems Act, 2007.”
“In line with section 6 of the e-money directives, any person intending to issue e-money shall require authorization by the Bank of Zambia. The mobile money services are conducted through separate companies which are subsidiaries of the Mobile Network Operators. It is these subsidiaries which are regulated by the Bank of Zambia as issuers of mobile money,” Ms. Mwanza said.
And Ms. Mwanza explained that the Prohibition Against Unwarranted Charges and Fees and Regulations of Specific Charges Directives 2020, were issued under the Banking and Financial Services Act and apply to all financial service providers regulated under the said Act, therefore the directives are not applicable to electronic or mobile money which is regulated under the National Payment System Act.
“On the part of mobile money, charges from intra platform transactions are their key source of revenue since they are not allowed to intermediate funds received from their customers,” she added.
Ms. Mwanza’s comment comes in the wake of complaints by some mobile money customers over unwarranted charges by some mobile network operators such as the introduction of a minimum fee of 17 ngwee on internal transfers, which rises as the amount increases.