Related documents
- Is commenced by Payment System Management Act, 2023: Commencement

Payment System Management Act, 2023
Act 14 of 2023
- Published in Government Gazette 8156 on 28 July 2023
- Assented to on 21 July 2023
- Commenced on 8 August 2023 by Payment System Management Act, 2023: Commencement
- [This is the version of this document from 28 July 2023 and includes any amendments published up to 1 September 2023.]
Part 1 – INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
1. Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates–“administrative penalty” means a penalty determined by the Bank under section 40(1) or (2);“agent” means an entity appointed by a payment service provider or system participant to perform certain payment services on behalf of the payment service provider or system participant;“Association” means the Payments Association of Namibia referred to in section 5;“authorised officer” means a staff member of the Bank authorised in writing to exercise the powers conferred on such officer by section 33;“Bank” means the Bank of Namibia referred to in section 2 of the Bank of Namibia Act, 2020 (Act No. 1 of 2020);“Bank of Namibia Act” means the Bank of Namibia Act, 2020 (Act No. 1 of 2020);“banking institution” means a banking institution as defined in section 1 of the Banking Institutions Act, 2023 (Act No. 13 of 2023);“Banking Institutions Act” means the Banking Institutions Act, 2023 (Act No. 13 of 2023);“beneficial owner”, in relation to a share, right or an interest held by any natural person or juristic person in a payment service provider or payment system operator, means–(a)a natural person who ultimately owns or effectively controls another person, including the natural person on whose behalf the share, right or interest is held;(b)a natural person who ultimately owns or exercises effective control over a juristic person, and a natural person is considered to ultimately own or effectively exercise control over a juristic person when that person–(i)owns or controls, directly or indirectly, including through trusts or bearer shareholding for the payment service provider or payment system operator, 25 percent or more of the shares or voting rights of the payment service provider or payment system operator;(ii)owns or controls, directly or indirectly, including through trusts or bearer shareholding for the payment service provider or payment system operator, 25 percent or more of the shares or voting rights of the payment service provider or payment system operator;(iii)has the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove the majority of the board of directors of the payment service provider or payment system operator;(iv)has the power to materially influence the decision-making or policy of the payment service provider or payment system operator;(v)despite less than 25 percent shareholding or voting rights, derives economic benefits, including dividends, rights to profit, enjoyment of assets of the payment service provider or payment system operator or is able to use significant assets of the payment service provider or payment system operator, even if the person has no other formal link to the payment service provider or payment system operator;(vi)otherwise exercises control over the management of the payment service provider or payment system operator in his or her capacity as the executive officer, independent non-executive director, director, manager or partner;“Board” means the Board of the Bank referred to in section 9 of the Bank of Namibia Act;“business days” means any day of the week other than a Sunday or a public holiday referred to in, or declared under, the Public Holidays Act, 1990 (Act No. 26 of 1990);“clearing” means the process of transmitting, reconciling and confirming the funds or securities that need to be settled prior to settlement and includes the netting of payment instructions and the establishment of final positions for settlement;“clearing system” means a payment system with a set of rules and procedures through which participants agree and must comply with exchanging instructions to transfer funds or securities to other participants through a centralised system or at a single location, and may include a mechanism for calculating participants' mutual position with a view to facilitating the settlement of their obligations in the settlement system;“Companies Act” means the Companies Act, 2004 (Act No. 28 of 2004);“currency” means notes and coins issued in terms of section 38 of the Bank of Namibia Act and any other currency being legal tender in Namibia;“dispute resolution” means the process of solving a dispute using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms;“designation” means the process of designation of a payment, clearing or settlement system as a systemically important system to regulate and manage systemic risk;“electronic money” means monetary value as represented by a claim on its issuer, which is–(a)stored electronically, magnetically or digitally;(b)issued on receipt of funds (legal tender) of an amount equivalent to the monetary value issued;(c)accepted as a means of payment by persons other than the issuer; and(d)redeemable on demand for cash in Namibia Dollar;“electronic money issuer” means a payment service provider authorised under this Act to issue electronic money;“fees and charges” means costs payable by a user of payment services or another connected service;“Financial Intelligence Act” means the Financial Intelligence Act, 2012 (Act No. 13 of 2012);“financial market infrastructure” means a multilateral systemically important system among participating institutions, including the operator of the system, used for purposes of clearing, settlement or recording payments, securities, derivatives or other financial transactions;“holding company” means a holding company contemplated in section 1(4) of the Companies Act;“Insolvency Act” means the Insolvency Act, 1936 (Act No. 24 of 1936);“interoperability” means the ability of different payment systems, networks, applications and other infrastructure of participants or persons to connect or interface;“Minister” means the Minister responsible for finance;“national payment system” means the entire payments ecosystem and includes all the payment systems, clearing systems, settlement systems and the rules, standards, arrangements, procedures, laws, agreements, technologies, payment instruments and institutions that are used in the processing and transferring of funds and securities;“netting” means the determination of the net payment obligations between two or more participants within a payment clearing house or the determination of the net settlement obligations between two or more participants within the payment and settlement system;“non-bank financial institutions” means institutions, other than banking institutions authorised to conduct banking business, that offer payment services;“payment clearing house” means an arrangement between system participants governing the clearing of payment instructions between those system participants;“payment instruction” means an order to make a payment or transfer funds;“payment instrument” means any device, procedure or a process authorised by the Bank by which a payment instruction is issued for the purpose of obtaining money, making payments or transferring funds;“payment intermediation” means the act of holding onto funds when providing payment services or facilitating payment instructions;“payment obligation” means an indebtedness that is owed by one system participant to another system participant as a result of the clearing of one or more payment instructions in a payment system;“payment services” means services relating to the facilitation of payment instructions, the issuance and acquiring of payment instruments or electronic money and any other services incidental to executing payments or transferring of funds, as specified under the Schedule;“payment service provider” means a person, including a banking institution, licensed under this Act to provide payment services as specified under the Schedule;“payment system” means an authorised system that enables the payment and transfer of funds or value, and includes–(a)a clearing system or settlement system; and(b)the rules, procedures, standards, technologies, instructions, institutions, participants, infrastructure and persons related to that system;“payment system operator” means a person authorised under this Act to operate a payment system;“payment system arrangement” means rules and procedures for the processing of payment instructions;“prescribed” means prescribed by regulation;“regulation” means a regulation made under section 47;“settlement” means the act of discharging obligations in respect of funds transfer from one system participant to another system participant in the settlement system;“settlement account” means an account with the Bank used for funds transfers between system participants for settlement purposes;“settlement instruction” means an instruction given to the settlement system by or on behalf of a system participant to effect the settlement of a payment obligation or to discharge any other obligation of one system participant to another system participant;“settlement obligation” means the amount due to be settled as a result of payments, securities or other financial instruments;“settlement system” means a system established and operated by the Bank to facilitate the transfer of funds for the discharge of payment and settlement obligations between system participants;“subsidiary” means a subsidiary company as defined in section 1(3) of the Companies Act, and includes a subsidiary company of a subsidiary;“systemically important system” means a system that has a significant impact on the national payment system which is capable of triggering or transmitting disruptions among system participants or to the entire national payment system if it is not sufficiently protected against risk;“systemic risk” means the risk that failure of one or more system participants, for whatever reason, to meet their payment obligations, including the payment obligations of clearing system participants or their settlement obligations may result in any or all of the other settlement system participants being unable to meet their respective payment or settlement obligations;“system participant” means a member of a payment system that is authorised and recognised in the rules of that payment system or is otherwise recognised by the operator of that payment system;“this Act” includes any regulation, determination, directive, guideline, standard, circular, specification, order or notice made or issued under any provision of this Act;“tiered participation arrangements” means arrangements where a system participant who is authorised as an indirect participant in either the clearing or settlement systems relies on the services provided by another system participant who is authorised as a direct participant in clearing or settlement to either clear or settle on their behalf;“trust account” means a trust banking account referred to in section 22;“user” means any person that uses a payment service in their capacity as a payer or a payee or both; and“virtual asset” means a digital representation of value–(a)that can be digitally transferred, stored or traded;(b)that uses a distribution ledger technology or similar technology; and(c)can be used for payment or investment purposes,but does not include digital representations of fiat currencies, and securities or other financial assets regulated under the securities or financial assets law of Namibia.2. Application of Act
Part 2 – POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF BANK
3. Powers and functions of Bank
4. Co-operation with other authorities
Part 3 – PAYMENTS ASSOCIATION OF NAMIBIA
5. Payments Association of Namibia
6. Mandate of Association
7. Constitution and rules of Association
8. Membership to Association
Part 4 – LICENSING AND AUTHORISATION
9. Prohibition on provision of unauthorised payment services
10. Licensing of payment service providers
11. Authorisation of payment system operators
12. Rules of payment system
13. Use of agent
14. Liability of payment system operator or payment service provider
Part 5 – CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT PROVISIONS
15. Clearing provisions
16. Settlement provisions
17. Recognition of eligible collateral arrangements
18. Netting agreements and netting rules
19. Tiered participation arrangements
20. Interoperability and efficiency
Part 6 – ISSUANCE OF ELECTRONIC MONEY AND OPERATIONS OF TRUST ACCOUNTS
21. Eligibility to issue electronic money
22. Opening of trust account
23. Separation of trust account from assets of payment service provider
24. Control of operation of trust account
Part 7 – DESIGNATION OF PAYMENT, CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS
25. Powers to designate
26. Variation and revocation of designation
27. Exemptions
Part 8 – CONSUMER PROTECTION
28. Principles of consumer protection
29. Transparency of fees and charges
30. Determining standards for fees and charges
31. Complaints
32. Sharing of data
Despite anything to the contrary provided in any other law, the sharing of data between payment service providers, payment system operators and such other third parties as authorised by the Bank, may only be conducted in accordance with standards as determined by the Bank from time to time.Part 9 – POWER TO OVERSEE NATIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEM AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION
33. Power to inspect
34. Information
Part 10 – INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS
35. Winding-up of system participant
36. Utilisation of assets provided as security
Despite anything to the contrary in the Insolvency Act or any other law, any asset of a system participant which the system participant, prior to the issue of its winding-up order, has provided to the Bank as security for a loan in respect of its settlement obligation may be utilised by the Bank to the extent required for the discharge of that settlement obligation.37. Winding-up notice
Part 11 – DISPUTE RESOLUTION
38. Settlement of disputes among payment service providers
39. Settlement of disputes with Bank
Part 12 – ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES AND OFFENCES
40. Administrative penalties
41. Offences relating to instruments, devices, software, digital apparatus or material or components of such instruments, devices, software, digital apparatus or material
Part 13 – GENERAL PROVISIONS
42. Confidentiality
43. Indemnity
The Governor, a Deputy Governor, a member of the Board or an employee or agent of the Bank or the Association or any other person performing a function or exercising a power under this Act is not personally liable for any loss or damage arising out of any act done or omitted to be done in good faith under this Act, unless it is established that the act or omission was committed in a grossly negligent manner or intentionally.44. Directives by Bank
45. Determinations by Bank
46. Enforceability of guidelines, standards, circulars, specifications, orders or notices
47. Regulations
48. Amendments to Schedule
49. Repeal of laws
The Payment System Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 18 of 2003) and the Payment System Management Amendment Act, 2010 (Act No. 6 of 2010) are repealed.50. Savings and transitional provisions
51. Short title and commencement
This Act is called the Payment System Management Act, 2023 and comes into operation on a date determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.History of this document
08 August 2023
Commenced by
Payment System Management Act, 2023: Commencement
28 July 2023 this version
21 July 2023
Assented to
Subsidiary legislation
Title | Numbered title |
---|---|
Regulations relating to fees payable to the Bank of Namibia, 2023 | Government Notice 252 of 2023 |
Regulations relating to variation or revocation of designated entities, 2023 | Government Notice 253 of 2023 |
Cited documents 8
Legislation 8
Documents citing this one 4
Gazette 2
- Namibia Government Gazette dated 2023-07-28 number 8156
- Namibia Government Gazette dated 2023-08-08 number 8171