Eswatini -- Stablecoin Regulations Regulatory Overview

Eswatini has no legal classification of stablecoins: no Eswatini statute, regulation or supervisory instrument defines a stablecoin or assigns it to a category of electronic money, payment token or security. The National Payments System Act 2023 provides for licensing of payment-system categories at section 9 and for licensing or registration of money- or value-transfer service providers at sections 10(1) and 16, and establishes no stablecoin or virtual-asset issuer category, while the Central Bank of Eswatini's 2023 notice records that crypto investments or assets are currently unregulated in Eswatini.

The Central Bank of Eswatini's 2023 notice 'Considerations for Dealing in Cryptocurrencies' states that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Eswatini and that crypto investments or assets are currently unregulated, so holders receive none of the legal protection attaching to regulated instruments or products. The notice addresses cryptocurrencies and crypto assets as one class and singles out no stablecoin, and no Eswatini instrument treats a stablecoin as electronic money, as a payment instrument or as legal tender.

Eswatini's payments statute is the National Payments System Act 2023, which is in force rather than prospective: section 9 provides for licensing of payment-system categories, section 10(1) and sections 16(1), 16(3) and 16(4) require money- or value-transfer service providers to be licensed or registered and impose sanctions on those operating without a licence, sections 29(3) and 29(4) require agents of such providers to be licensed or registered by the Central Bank of Eswatini, and sections 31(1) and 31(2) subject them to Eswatini's AML/CFT/CPF legislation, regulations and guidelines. No category in that Act covers stablecoin issuance.

Eswatini imposes no reserve, backing, segregation or audit duty on stablecoin issuers, because no Eswatini statute or Central Bank of Eswatini instrument creates a stablecoin issuer category at all; the Bank's 2023 notice records that crypto investments or assets are currently unregulated in Eswatini. Eswatini's monetary anchor is the lilangeni, introduced in 1974 at par with the South African rand through the Common Monetary Area and still tied to it at one-to-one, which is a currency arrangement rather than a reserve rule binding a private issuer.

Stablecoin issuance in Eswatini sits outside the prudential perimeter. The Central Bank of Eswatini regulates commercial banks, foreign-exchange bureaux, money- or value-transfer service providers and money remittances under the Central Bank Order 1974, the Financial Institutions Act 2005, the Exchange Control Order 1974 and the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011, and none of those instruments reaches virtual assets: the 2011 Act as amended to 2016 uses none of the terms virtual asset, virtual currency, crypto, digital currency or electronic money. No reserve-backing, capital or audit requirement therefore applies to a stablecoin issuer in Eswatini.

Eswatini operates no licensing regime for stablecoin issuers: neither the Central Bank of Eswatini nor the Financial Services Regulatory Authority publishes a virtual-asset or stablecoin licence, licence class, minimum capital floor, fee schedule or application process. Eswatini was rated Non-Compliant on FATF Recommendation 15 in the ESAAMLG mutual evaluation adopted in June 2022, and Recommendation 15 was not among the fifteen recommendations re-rated in the August 2025 enhanced follow-up report, so that rating stands.

A prospective stablecoin issuer can obtain no authorisation from either Eswatini regulator. The Central Bank of Eswatini licenses banks, foreign-exchange bureaux and money- or value-transfer providers, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority licenses non-bank financial services, and neither issues a licence covering the issuance of a stablecoin or any other virtual asset. Admission to the Bank's FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, established under guidelines of May 2020 and confined to products and business models already regulated by the Bank, is a time-limited testing arrangement decided within 21 working days and is not a licence; those guidelines use none of the words crypto, cryptocurrency, virtual currency, virtual asset or stablecoin, and no participant register is published.

Eswatini law confers no redemption right on the holder of a stablecoin: no Eswatini instrument creates a par-value redemption duty, a redemption deadline, a fee prohibition or a claim against an issuer's reserves, because Eswatini has enacted no stablecoin, e-money-token or asset-referenced-token regime. The Central Bank of Eswatini's 2023 notice records that crypto investments or assets are currently unregulated in Eswatini and that holders receive none of the legal protection associated with regulated instruments or products.

Contractual Basis Only: Any redemption rights would solely depend on the terms and conditions set forth by the stablecoin issuer and the contractual agreement (if any) between the issuer and the holder. Given the unregulated nature, enforcement of such contractual rights could be challenging.

Eswatini draws no legal distinction between algorithmic stablecoins, asset-backed stablecoins and other crypto-assets, and prohibits none of them: the Central Bank of Eswatini's 2023 notice treats cryptocurrencies and crypto assets as a single class that is not legal tender in Eswatini and is currently unregulated there, and no Eswatini statute or supervisory instrument names an algorithmic stabilisation mechanism or any other stablecoin design.

General Caution Applies: The general cautionary statements from the CBE about the volatility and risks of cryptocurrencies would apply equally, if not more so, to algorithmic stablecoins due to their inherent instability risks.

The Central Bank of Eswatini has moved well beyond research on a central bank digital currency. A CBDC diagnostic study run with Cenfri was published on 13 August 2020, and the Bank went on to complete a proof-of-concept and pilot projects in partnership with Giesecke+Devrient of Munich, culminating in the Digital Lilangeni Design Paper of 2024, which sets out design principles and technical considerations for a potential retail CBDC complementing physical cash. The Bank has not issued a CBDC and has decided not to proceed with issuance at this time, prioritising modernisation of the national payment switch instead.

Eswatini's central bank digital currency work created no regulatory framework for privately issued stablecoins. The Central Bank of Eswatini completed a CBDC diagnostic study, a proof-of-concept and pilot projects and then decided not to proceed with issuance at this time, and a central bank digital currency is central bank money rather than a virtual asset. Eswatini's monetary anchor remains the lilangeni, introduced in 1974 at par with the South African rand through the Common Monetary Area and still tied to it one-to-one, with the rand accepted as legal tender in Eswatini.

The Central Bank of Eswatini's standing crypto-asset consumer communication is 'Considerations for Dealing in Cryptocurrencies' (2023), which states that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Eswatini, that crypto investments or assets are currently unregulated there, and that investors accordingly receive none of the legal protection associated with regulated instruments or products; it directs the public to confirm with the Central Bank of Eswatini and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority whether a firm is registered to provide financial services in Eswatini. The Bank's earlier April 2018 statement announced research into cryptocurrency and was not a warning.

Reference: You would typically find these under "Public Notices" or "Press Releases" on the CBE website. For example, similar central banks in the region issued warnings around 2018-2019.

URL (CBE Official Website - for general information, specific advisory links may require searching their news archives): https://www.centralbank.org.sz/

Proceeds of Crime Act, 2009 (as amended):

While not specific to stablecoins, this Act (and related Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism - AML/CFT - regulations) would provide a general legal framework for prosecuting financial crimes, including those that might involve digital assets if they are used for illicit purposes. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) would be the key authority here.

Reference: Acts are generally found on the Eswatini Government website or legal databases, but direct public URLs for specific acts can be elusive.

Eswatini's financial intelligence unit is established by section 19 of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 as the Swaziland Financial Intelligence Unit and now operates as the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Centre; it is not constituted under any Proceeds of Crime Act, and Eswatini's Prevention of Organised Crime Act dates from 2018.

Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) Act, 2010:

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority supervises Eswatini's non-bank financial institutions and has published no virtual-asset, digital-asset or stablecoin framework, and the Central Bank of Eswatini's Considerations for Dealing in Cryptocurrencies records that crypto investments and assets are currently unregulated in Eswatini and have no legal tender status.

URL (FSRA Official Website - for general information): http://www.fsra.co.sz/