Constitutions and laws
National Payment System law, Somalia
Somalia's National Payment System Bill gives the Central Bank of Somalia legal power to oversee payment systems, payment service providers and digital platforms. Drafted by the Ministry of Finance, it was passed by the House of the People in November 2025 by 154 votes to 2, and by the Upper House in January 2026 by 28 votes to 0. The payment system itself has run since 2021, and processed about US$2.4 billion in 2025.
What is the National Payment System?
The National Payment System (NPS) is the platform run by the Central Bank of Somalia that links banks so money can move between them. It has these parts (Central Bank of Somalia, NPS):
- Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS): large payments between banks, settled at once;
- Automated Clearing House (ACH): bulk payments such as salaries;
- Instant Funds Transfer (IFT);
- SOMQR: a national QR code for paying for goods, taxes and fees, launched March 2023; and
- the Somali Payment Switch and the Somali Instant Payment System (SIPS), launched January 2025, which link banks, mobile wallets and card terminals 24 hours a day.
The Central Bank dates the NPS launch to July 2021 (same source). Bloomberg, republished by Al Jazeera, reported the launch on 10 August 2021 and quoted Governor Abdirahman M. Abdullahi: "The impact on the economy will be unprecedented" (Al Jazeera, 10 August 2021).
For the wider idea of one shared payment network, see One national payment system. For phone payments, see Mobile money.
What does the law do?
The system ran for four years without its own law. The Central Bank listed a draft National Payment System bill among its commitments, alongside a revised Financial Institutions Law and an Insurance Law (CBS Annual Report 2025).
The bill, drafted by the Ministry of Finance, gives the Central Bank clear legal power to supervise financial transactions, payment service providers and digital platforms (Dawan, November 2025).
How did it pass Parliament?
| Date | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | House of the People passes the bill, 154 for and 2 against | Dawan |
| December 2025 | Upper House finance committee consults banks and the Central Bank, and amends the text | Radio Dalsan |
| January 2026 | Upper House completes the third reading, 28 for and 0 against, under Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi | Goobjoog, 12 January 2026 |
The sources found for this page do not report the date the President signed the law.
How much money goes through it?
Figures from the Central Bank (CBS Annual Report 2025, Table 12):
| Year | RTGS (US$ million) | ACH (US$ million) | Total (US$ million) | Transactions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,059 | 367 | 1,426 | 922,904 |
| 2023 | 1,298 | 410 | 1,709 | 1,062,103 |
| 2024 | 1,421 | 518 | 1,939 | 1,277,216 |
| 2025 | 1,850 | 572 | 2,422 | 1,409,151 |
In 2025 the number of transactions rose 10 percent and their value 25 percent over 2024. RTGS carried about 76 percent of the value (same source).
Related pages
Sources
- Central Bank of Somalia, NPS · centralbank.gov.so
- Al Jazeera, 10 August 2021 · aljazeera.com
- CBS Annual Report 2025 · centralbank.gov.so
- Dawan, November 2025 · dawan.africa
- Radio Dalsan · radiodalsan.com
- Goobjoog, 12 January 2026 · en.goobjoog.com
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Where this matters
Same era
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- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
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- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Constitution of PuntlandThe Constitution of Puntland: the 1998 Garowe charter, the 2001 and 2012 texts, what the 2012 constitution contains, the 2023 amendments and the dispute around them.
- Somali citizenship law: who is a Somali citizenSomali citizenship law: Law No. 28 of 1962, citizenship by birth through the father, by grant, by marriage, losing it, dual citizenship, the 2012 constitution and the 2016 reform bill.
- Somaliland citizenship law (Law No. 22/2002)Somaliland's Citizenship Law of 2002: citizenship by birth, proof through a registered akil, grants to foreigners after 10 years, marriage, children, loss and re-acquisition, and the 1960 ordinance it builds on.
- Laws of Somaliland: list of numbered laws since 1993A list of Somaliland's numbered laws, 1993 to 2021, by subject: constitution and government, elections and parties, courts and crime, money and tax, business, the sea, and social laws, with links to each text.
- Data Protection Act 2023 (Law No. 005)Somalia's Data Protection Act of 2023: who it covers, the rights it gives, rules on consent, children, breaches and transfers abroad, registration, penalties and the Data Protection Authority.
- Sexual offences laws in Somaliland and SomaliaThe history of rape and sexual offences laws in Somaliland (Law No. 78/2018 and Bill No. 78/2020) and in federal Somalia (the 2018 Sexual Offences Bill, the 2020 draft and the bill passed by the House of the People in October 2026).