The Central Bank of Eswatini, working with the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders, published the National FinTech Strategy 2025–2030, setting out a national roadmap to strengthen Eswatini’s digital finance ecosystem and support financial inclusion and regional integration. The strategy builds on reported 87% financial inclusion driven largely by mobile money, while targeting the “access-usage gap” reflected in continued cash reliance, limited product diversity, and infrastructure constraints. The strategy is structured around seven national outcomes and six pillars covering inclusive technology infrastructure, trust and financial safeguards, human capital, agile policy and regulation, inclusive and sustainable finance, and positioning Eswatini as a regional FinTech hub. Key initiatives include establishing a FinTech Coordination Office under the Central Bank of Eswatini, upgrading the existing regulatory sandbox into a multi-sector sandbox spanning payments, insurance, pensions, capital markets and digital credit, and modernising priority financial sector laws for digital business models. The roadmap also prioritises digital identity and trusted electronic know your customer mechanisms, national API standards and interoperability, stronger digital financial services consumer protection and cybersecurity frameworks, digitisation of Government-to-Person and Person-to-Government payments, and a risk-based regulatory framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers. Targets cited include achieving 95% population coverage for broadband and mobile networks, enabling more than 500,000 digital KYC onboardings and 80% interoperability of digital transactions by 2028, publishing digital financial services specific consumer protection regulations within 12 months and reducing consumer complaints by 30% within two years, training and certifying 5,000 digital financial services agents and embedding a digital and financial literacy curriculum across schools and vocational institutions by 2027, launching 10 new digital financial services products for underserved segments by 2028, and digitising 80% of recurring government payments. Implementation follows a tiered plan, with foundational actions scheduled for 2025–2027 and catalytic initiatives for 2027–2029, supported by annual progress reviews and a mid-term evaluation in 2027. Oversight sits with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Eswatini, supported by the Eswatini FinTech Working Group, and the first annual implementation report is due in 2026.
Central Bank of Eswatini 2025-12-04
Central Bank of Eswatini publishes National FinTech Strategy 2025–2030 with plan for a FinTech Coordination Office and multi-sector regulatory sandbox
The Central Bank of Eswatini and the Ministry of Finance released the National FinTech Strategy 2025–2030 to enhance Eswatini's digital finance ecosystem and financial inclusion. The strategy focuses on seven national outcomes and six pillars, including infrastructure, regulation, and positioning Eswatini as a regional FinTech hub. Key initiatives involve establishing a FinTech Coordination Office, upgrading the regulatory sandbox, and modernizing financial laws, with targets for broadband coverage, digital KYC, and consumer protection.