Stablecoin issuer / redeemer in Tanzania

Tanzania has enacted no stablecoin instrument and no statutory definition of a stablecoin: the Bank of Tanzania's regulations register lists 51 instruments and its guidelines register 50, none of them addressing virtual assets, and of 286 Bank of Tanzania public notices only three concern crypto-assets, being the cryptocurrency notices of 12 and 29 November 2019 and the central bank digital currency progress notice of 14 January 2023.

Evidence fact tz.stablecoin.potential-classification-hypothetical-if-regulated not found (may have been renamed).

The National Payment Systems Act, 2015 (Act No. 4 of 2015) defines electronic money as monetary value represented by a claim on its issuer, electronically stored, issued against receipt of funds of an amount not lesser in value than the monetary value issued, accepted by persons other than the issuer and redeemable in cash, a definition that excludes a virtual asset, and the Act carries no occurrence of virtual, crypto, digital asset or virtual asset; Tanzania's payment instruments are the Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 and the Electronic Money Regulations, 2015, and no Payment Systems Regulations of 2021 exist.

No Tanzanian instrument imposes reserve requirements on stablecoin issuers: the Bank of Tanzania's regulations register lists 51 instruments and none addresses virtual assets, and reserve and safeguarding duties in Tanzanian payment law attach only to electronic money issuers licensed under the National Payment Systems Act, 2015.

Potential (If classified as E-money): If a stablecoin were classified as e-money, it would likely be subject to the prudential requirements for e-money issuers under the Payment Systems Regulations, 2021. These typically include:

Maintaining reserves equivalent to the value of e-money issued.

Safeguarding customer funds (e.g., segregating funds, holding them in low-risk assets).

Capital adequacy requirements for the issuer.

Tanzania operates no licensing regime for stablecoin issuers: the Bank of Tanzania licenses payment systems, payment instruments and electronic money issuers under the National Payment Systems Act, 2015, which carries no virtual-asset term, and no Tanzanian authority licenses or supervises virtual asset service providers.

The Bank of Tanzania licenses payment systems under sections 5 to 11, payment instruments under sections 15 to 19 and electronic money issuers under sections 24 to 29 of the National Payment Systems Act, 2015, implemented by the Payment Systems (Licensing and Approval) Regulations, 2015 and the Electronic Money Regulations, 2015; no Payment Systems Regulations of 2021 exist and none of those licences extends to stablecoin issuance.

No Tanzanian law confers redemption rights on stablecoin holders; the only statutory redemption feature in Tanzanian payment law belongs to electronic money, which the National Payment Systems Act, 2015 defines as capable of being redeemed in cash, and Tanzania has enacted no stablecoin instrument.

No Tanzanian instrument imposes reserve requirements on stablecoin issuers: the Bank of Tanzania's regulations register lists 51 instruments and none addresses virtual assets, and reserve and safeguarding duties in Tanzanian payment law attach only to electronic money issuers licensed under the National Payment Systems Act, 2015.

Potential (Future): Globally, algorithmic stablecoins are viewed as inherently riskier due to their reliance on code and market mechanisms rather than fully backed reserves. If Tanzania were to regulate stablecoins, it is highly probable that algorithmic stablecoins would face stricter scrutiny, higher capital requirements, or even outright prohibition, especially for public use in the financial system.

The Bank of Tanzania's public notice of 14 January 2023 states that the Bank has adopted a phased, cautious and risk based approach to adoption of a central bank digital currency and that it remains at the research stage, having formed a multidisciplinary technical team to examine practical aspects of CBDC; the Bank has run no pilot and has taken no decision either to issue or to reject a central bank digital currency.

Evidence fact tz.stablecoin.interaction-with-private-stablecoins not found (may have been renamed).

The BoT's general cautious approach to private cryptocurrencies suggests that a state-backed digital currency would be preferred, with private stablecoins potentially facing significant hurdles to operate.

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.

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.

Virtual asset service providers are not reporting persons in Tanzania and owe no statutory customer due diligence, transaction-monitoring, record-keeping or suspicious-transaction reporting duty to the Financial Intelligence Unit. 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, but left the reporting-person list at paragraphs (a) to (i) unchanged, and the Minister has published no Gazette notice under paragraph (j) designating the category. The Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations, 2023, G.N. No. 853E of 22 November 2023, carry no virtual-asset reference, and ESAAMLG rates Tanzania Partially Compliant with Recommendation 15. Tanzania has definitions without obligations.

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.

Evidence fact tz.aml.identification-and-verification-of-customers not found (may have been renamed).

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.

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.