Algeria has taken a significant step toward developing a regulated non-bank payments sector after the Monetary and Banking Council authorized Djezzy Payment Services to establish itself as a Payment Service Provider, or PSP. The company is a subsidiary of Optimum Telecom Algeria, which operates mobile network Djezzy and has been fully owned by Algeria’s Fonds National d’Investissement since 2022. The authorization represents the first implementation of the country’s new framework for PSPs, which was introduced to diversify payment methods and expand financial inclusion.
Djezzy Receives Initial PSP Authorization
The Monetary and Banking Council approved Djezzy Payment Services during an ordinary session chaired by the Governor of the Bank of Algeria, granting the company an authorization to establish rather than a final operating license. Under Regulation No. 25-02, the subsidiary must now establish the required operational, technical, compliance, and risk-management infrastructure before submitting an application for formal approval to the Bank of Algeria. That application must be submitted within 12 months from the date on which the establishment authorization is officially notified.
A New Category of Financial Intermediary
Payment Service Providers were introduced as a new category of financial intermediary under Algeria’s Law No. 23-09 on Monetary and Banking Law. The framework is intended to broaden the range of available payment instruments while supporting greater participation in the formal financial system, particularly as Algeria continues efforts to reduce its reliance on cash. Once fully approved, PSPs can provide digital payment services without operating as conventional commercial banks.
Building a Regulatory Framework for Digital Payments
The authorization follows the rollout of Regulation No. 25-02 and Instruction No. 06-2025, which establish the requirements governing PSP creation, approval, operations, customer protection, and payment infrastructure. The framework includes different levels of digital wallets linked to customer verification requirements, alongside rules requiring PSPs to separate customer money from their own operational funds through dedicated accounts held with commercial banks. It also establishes responsibilities for PSPs that use merchant, retail, or other agent networks to facilitate transactions and cash services.
Rules Cover Wallets and Customer Funds
Under the framework described in Instruction No. 06-2025, customer verification requirements become more extensive as permitted wallet balances increase, creating different levels of access depending on documentation and verification. PSPs are also required to maintain customer funds separately from their operating assets and reconcile those balances against their obligations to users, strengthening safeguards around stored money. Payment activity and stored value are denominated in Algerian dinars and operate within Algeria’s domestic financial infrastructure.
Telecom Infrastructure Opens a New Payment Channel
Djezzy’s entry into payments gives the new regulatory framework an early test through an operator with an established telecommunications network and large customer base. Mobile connectivity could provide an alternative distribution channel for digital financial services in a market where cash remains widely used and traditional banking has historically played the dominant role in formal financial transactions. The introduction of regulated PSPs could eventually allow additional technology companies and other eligible operators to develop wallet, transaction-processing, and agent-based payment services under central bank supervision.
The authorization of Djezzy Payment Services marks the beginning of Algeria’s practical implementation of its new regulatory structure for non-bank payment providers. However, the company has not yet received final approval to operate as a PSP and must complete the required establishment process before applying for that authorization within the prescribed 12-month period. The development provides an early indication of how Algeria intends to expand digital payments while maintaining formal regulatory, customer-fund, and compliance safeguards.