Launching payments in Tanzania: the stack

By Polynopsis team · Last updated 29 October 2026

Paying out in Tanzania means delivering shillings to bank accounts or mobile wallets, and since 2025 incoming international transfers can reach both directly through the Bank of Tanzania's 24/7 TIPS switch at a standard TZS 1,000 interchange fee. Cross-border payment companies typically work with a licensed bank or payment partner such as CRDB Bank, Equity Bank or Selcom, or a payout network such as TerraPay, dLocal or Flutterwave, and source shillings through banks trading on the BoT's Electronic Matching System from 09:00 to 16:00 on business days.

Currency	TZS
Local payout rails	TIPS (Tanzania Instant Payment System), TISS (RTGS), Mobile money
Holiday calendar	Tanzania bank holidays 2026 and 2027

The Tanzania market

Tanzania received US$1.12 billion in personal remittances in 2024, equal to 1.42% of GDP (World Bank data, last updated 8 October 2026). source
Incoming remittances through banks rose 21.01% to TZS 2,290.32 billion in 2025 across 1.45 million transactions, and incoming remittances through e-money issuers rose 153.36% in volume to 8.74 million transactions (Bank of Tanzania). source
Sending money from the United Kingdom to Tanzania cost 4.88% on average in Q3 2025 (World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide). source
Active mobile money subscriptions rose 24.74% to 75.78 million in 2025, and TIPS, TISS and TACH together processed 672.24 million transactions. source
At the end of 2025 Tanzania had 114 licensed payment system providers: 72 non-bank institutions and 42 banks. source

Licensing: who can pay out in Tanzania

Under the National Payment Systems Act, non-banks need a payment system provider licence from the BoT, and an electronic money issuer can issue e-money only after equivalent cash is deposited in a trust or special account. source
Class B bureaux de change can run money transfer business as sub-agents of international money transfer agencies or mobile network operators, alongside spot FX; Class A bureaux deal only in spot FX. source
The Foreign Currency Use Regulations 2025 (Government Gazette No. 198, 28 March 2025) require goods and services in Tanzania to be priced and paid in shillings, and bar new or renewed contracts requiring payment in foreign currency. source
From 1 January 2026 FX dealers remain barred from trading with international FX brokers not licensed in Tanzania and must keep the net open position within 10% of core capital, while the rule forcing retail trades above US$1 million onto interbank prices was revoked. source

This page explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or regulatory advice. Check the primary source and take advice on how the rules apply to your firm.

Payout rails in Tanzania

Rail	Operator	What matters for payouts	Source
TIPS (Tanzania Instant Payment System)	Bank of Tanzania	National retail switch for banks and e-money issuers, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It settles on a prefunded continuous gross basis in two operating windows and is integrated with TISS for funding and de-funding.	source
TISS (RTGS)	Bank of Tanzania	Real-time gross settlement for TZS and USD interbank payments, on ISO 20022 since 2025, with 48 participants; USD transactions in TISS reached US$41.51 billion in 2025.	source
Mobile money	BoT-licensed electronic money issuers	dLocal's Tanzania payout API reaches TIGOPESA, ZANTEL, VODACOM and AIRTEL MONEY wallets by +255 phone number.	source

The Tanzania payments stack, layer by layer

The providers below are a starting shortlist for each layer, described from their own documentation. Confirm terms, coverage and licences with each provider.

Payout and collection partners

Provider	What it does in Tanzania	Source
TerraPay · our guide	Lists Tanzania (TZS) with wallet payout and bank payout.	source
dLocal · our guide	Payouts V3 sends TZS to bank accounts (SWIFT code and account number) for B2C, B2B and P2P flows, and to TIGOPESA, ZANTEL, VODACOM and AIRTEL MONEY wallets for B2C and B2B flows; funding in TZS or USD, paid out in shillings.	source
Flutterwave · our guide	Mobile money transfers API pays TZS to AIRTEL, HALOPESA, TIGO and VODACOM wallets from a Flutterwave balance.	source
Selcom	International Money Transfer API with wallet and bank account name lookup, send money, status and callbacks for third-party remittance companies paying into Tanzanian wallets and banks.	source

Local banking and settlement accounts

Provider	What it does in Tanzania	Source
CRDB Bank	Receives remittances from partners Western Union, Ria, UPESI and NALA, paying by deposit to CRDB or other bank accounts, mobile wallets, or cash at over 260 branches, with accounts credited in real time.	source
Equity Bank Tanzania (Jenga API)	Jenga API moves funds within Equity Bank across its markets, including Tanzania in TZS.	source

FX and liquidity

Provider	What it does in Tanzania	Source
Interbank FX market on the Electronic Matching System	Since 18 May 2026 all interbank spot USD/TZS trades run on the BoT-approved EMS, with a US$100,000 minimum lot and multiples of US$100,000, from 09:00 to 16:00 EAT on business days.	source
BoT FX auctions	Multi-price USD/TZS auctions open only to authorised FX dealing banks, with bids of US$250,000 and multiples on the Refinitiv platform, a 20% cap per bank and T+1 settlement.	source
Bureaux de change	BoT-licensed Class A and Class B bureaux deal in spot foreign currency, with Class B also acting as money transfer sub-agents.	source

KYC and KYB providers

Provider	What it does in Tanzania	Source
Smile ID	Verifies up to seven Tanzanian ID types, including the NIDA national identity card, voter ID, passports, resident IDs and driver's licences.	source
Youverify	Document Capture supports Tanzanian driver's licences, ID cards and voter IDs, with global liveness checks.	source

Funding and prefunding TZS payouts

Interbank USD/TZS trading on the EMS runs only from 09:00 to 16:00 EAT on business days, unmatched orders expire at the close, and spot trades settle within two business days (T+2), so shilling conversion follows the Tanzanian trading week. source
BoT FX auction purchases settle T+1 and are open only to authorised FX dealing banks, so non-bank senders reach this liquidity through a bank. source
TIPS settles on a prefunded basis: participants fund their positions through TISS, and payments clear in real time 24/7 against those balances. source
Pricing and payment for goods and services inside Tanzania must be in shillings under the 2025 regulations, so domestic payouts are made in TZS. source
Since 2025 TIPS has carried incoming international money transfers directly to domestic bank accounts and mobile wallets, at a standardised interchange fee of TZS 1,000 per transaction paid by the sending participant to the beneficiary's participant. source

Size the prefund to your runway target with the corridor runway calculator and the Tanzania holiday calendar.

Launch checklist

Plan: launch volume, the prefund sized to your runway target including weekends and holidays, the contracting entity and the funding route.
Open accounts: shortlist payout partners and a local banking route from the layers above, and prepare the onboarding pack.
Set up: read access to every new balance, a runway target with alerts, and the corridor in your daily reports.
Go live: the first prefund and a test payout, then daily monitoring.

Polynopsis turns this into one plan with named approvals, then shows every Tanzania partner, bank and wallet in one live position. See how a corridor launch works.

Frequently asked questions

Can international transfers reach Tanzanian wallets directly?

Yes. Since 2025 TIPS carries incoming international money transfers to bank accounts and mobile wallets at a standard TZS 1,000 interchange fee paid by the sending participant.

When can shillings be bought on the interbank market?

On the Electronic Matching System from 09:00 to 16:00 EAT on business days, in lots of US$100,000, with spot settlement at T+2.

Who can receive remittances on behalf of beneficiaries?

BoT-licensed banks and electronic money issuers, which the BoT reports handle bank and wallet inflows, and Class B bureaux de change acting as sub-agents of international money transfer agencies.

Can prices or payouts in Tanzania be in US dollars?

Domestic goods and services must be priced and paid in shillings under the Foreign Currency Use Regulations 2025, effective 28 March 2025.

How many payment providers are licensed in Tanzania?

114 at the end of 2025, made up of 72 non-bank institutions and 42 banks, according to the BoT.

Other markets

Sources

Know where all your money is.

Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.

Book a demo →Learn more →

About Polynopsis

Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.

Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator