Crypto ATM / kiosk operator in Tanzania

Tanzania has no virtual-asset licensing regime: as at 21 August 2026 there is no VASP licence class, no minimum-capital floor, no application process, no fee schedule, no register and no licensed firm. Tanzanian law does nevertheless define the terms — the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 2 of 2022, assented 23 February 2022, in force 8 March 2022) inserted definitions of "virtual asset" and "virtual asset service provider" into section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423, without attaching any obligation to them. The Bank of Tanzania's public notices of 12 and 29 November 2019, issued under sections 26 and 27 of the Bank of Tanzania Act, 2006 (Act No. 4 of 2006, Cap. 197) and the Foreign Exchange Act, 1992, remain the operative central-bank position, and ESAAMLG rated Tanzania Partially Compliant with Recommendation 15 in its 1st Enhanced Follow-Up Report of September 2022.

Current Stance (Implied): While formal prohibition may not be explicit in specific crypto legislation, the lack of a regulatory framework and the BOT's historical cautious stance on unregulated financial activities mean that operating an unlicensed crypto business could face significant legal uncertainty and potential challenges under existing general financial laws.

Exchanges: If an exchange facilitates the exchange of fiat currency for cryptocurrencies, or vice versa, it might be seen as engaging in money transmission or payment processing activities.

The National Payment Systems Act, 2015 (Act No. 4 of 2015) licenses payment systems under section 7, payment instruments under section 17 and the issuance of electronic money under section 26, and its text contains no reference to virtual assets, cryptocurrency or digital currency. Its definition of electronic money requires "monetary value as represented by a claim on its issuer, that is electronically stored in an instrument or device, issued against receipt of funds of an amount not lesser in value than the monetary value issued" and redeemable in cash, which excludes virtual assets. A Bank of Tanzania payment-system, payment-instrument or electronic-money licence therefore reaches the fiat payment leg only and is not a virtual-asset licence, and the Bank of Tanzania has licensed no virtual-asset service provider under this or any other statute.

Tanzania's anti-money-laundering statute is the Anti-Money Laundering Act, originally Act No. 12 of 2006 and consolidated as Cap. 423 R.E. 2022, administered by the Financial Intelligence Unit established under it. Banks, financial institutions, cash dealers and the designated non-financial businesses and professions set out at section 3 paragraphs (a) to (i) are reporting persons and owe customer due diligence, record-keeping and suspicious-transaction reporting duties. Virtual asset service providers appear nowhere in that list, so the Tanzanian AML perimeter does not reach them, and the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, G.N. No. 853E of 22 November 2023, made under section 29 of Cap. 423, contain no virtual-asset provision.

Highly Likely: For any regulated financial service, a local presence (e.g., a locally incorporated entity, physical office, local management) is typically a prerequisite in Tanzania. This would almost certainly be a requirement for any future crypto licensing.

Tanzania's principal AML statute is the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 (Act No. 12 of 2006, R.E. 2023, commenced 1 July 2007), which imposes obligations on the class of 'reporting person' defined in section 3 paragraphs (a) to (j); the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 2 of 2022, in force 8 March 2022) inserted definitions of 'virtual asset' and 'virtual asset service provider' into section 3 but left virtual asset service providers outside that class, which only a notice published in the Gazette by the Minister under paragraph (j) can extend.

Tanzania's operative AML subsidiary legislation is the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations, 2022 (Government Notice No. 397 of 3 June 2022), amended by the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (Government Notice No. 853E of 22 November 2023); regulation 30 of GN No. 397 revoked the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing Regulations, 2012 (GN No. 289 of 2012), and neither the 2022 regulations nor the 2023 amendment mentions virtual assets or virtual asset service providers.

Tanzania's counter-terrorism statute is the Prevention of Terrorism Act, Act No. 21 of 2002, consolidated as Cap. 19 R.E. 2023 and in force from 15 June 2003, with terrorist financing offences at sections 16 and 17 and proliferation financing at section 13, supplemented by the POTA Regulations 2022; Tanzania has no statute titled the Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act mentions no virtual assets.

Natural Persons: Collecting and verifying full legal name, date of birth, residential address, nationality, national identification number (e.g., National ID, passport, driver's license). Verification should be done using reliable, independent source documents, data, or information.

Beneficial Ownership: Identifying and verifying the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of the virtual assets or the entity, ensuring that the VASP knows who ultimately owns or controls the funds/assets.

Ongoing Monitoring: Continuously monitoring the business relationship and transactions undertaken by the customer to ensure that they are consistent with the VASP's knowledge of the customer, their business, and risk profile. This includes monitoring for unusual or suspicious activities.

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD): Applying EDD for higher-risk situations, which may include:

Tanzania imposes no suspicious-transaction reporting duty on virtual asset service providers: section 18 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 R.E. 2023 (section 17 in the R.E. 2022 numbering) binds only a "reporting person", and the section 3 definition of reporting person, at paragraphs (a) to (j), names banks and financial institutions, cash dealers, accountants, real estate agents, auditors, tax advisers, dealers in precious stones, works of art or metals, trust and company service providers, motor vehicle dealers, clearing and forwarding agents, advocates and notaries, pension fund managers, securities market intermediaries, financial leasing entities, microfinance service providers and auctioneers, but no virtual asset service provider, even though section 3 has defined both "virtual asset" and "virtual asset service provider" since the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act No. 2 of 2022) came into force on 8 March 2022.

Suspicious transaction reports in Tanzania are submitted to the Financial Intelligence Unit under section 18 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 R.E. 2023 by any secure means the Unit specifies, and the Unit operates a goAML portal for that purpose, but the duty falls only on a "reporting person" as defined in section 3, and virtual asset service providers are outside that definition, so no Tanzanian virtual asset service provider owes a reporting obligation to the Unit.

Tanzania's tipping-off prohibition in section 22 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 R.E. 2023 (section 20 in the R.E. 2022 numbering) is drafted to bind "a person" rather than only a reporting person, so it reaches anyone, including the staff of a virtual asset business, who discloses or warns a person involved in a transaction, or an unauthorised third party, that a suspicious transaction report under section 18 may be prepared, is being prepared or has been sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit; the prohibition attaches to reports made by reporting persons, and virtual asset service providers owe no reporting duty of their own because section 3 omits them from the reporting-person list.

Tanzania's anti-money-laundering record-retention period is ten years, not five: section 17(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Cap. 423 R.E. 2023 (section 16 in the R.E. 2022 numbering) requires every reporting person to retain records for a minimum period of ten years from the date the transaction is completed, the business relationship ends or the risk assessment is completed, and the duty binds only the reporting persons listed at paragraphs (a) to (j) of section 3, a list that omits virtual asset service providers.

Entity Targeted: The general public, financial institutions, and any individuals or entities attempting to deal in, facilitate, or operate businesses involving cryptocurrencies. Violation Type: Dealing in, facilitating, or promoting instruments not recognized as legal tender; operating unauthorized financial services. Penalty Amount: Not a specific fine amount applied in a single action, but the outcome implies potential prosecution under existing financial laws for unauthorized activities.

Cryptocurrencies are not legal tender in Tanzania - section 26 of the Bank of Tanzania Act, Cap. 197 gives the Bank the sole right of issue and makes its notes and coins the only legal tender, and the Bank's notices of 12 and 29 November 2019 restate this - but no Tanzanian instrument prohibits financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions, and the High Court held in Yellow Card Tanzania Limited v Nyamwero Michael Nyamwero, Commercial Case No. 12171 of 2024 (13 December 2024) that crypto trading is not illegal in Tanzania.

Evidence fact tz.enforcement.bank-of-tanzanias-stance-via not found (may have been renamed).