Algeria has taken its first step towards telecom-led mobile money. On 23 September 2026, the country’s Monetary and Banking Council, chaired by the Governor of the Bank of Algeria, authorised Djezzy Payment Services, a subsidiary of the country’s second-largest mobile operator, to be set up as a Payment Service Provider (PSP), The Condia reported.
It is the first approval of its kind since the PSP category was created under Algeria’s 2023 Monetary and Banking Law. It is only a first stage: Djezzy has 12 months to apply for the final licence, and cannot process payments for customers until that is granted.
What a PSP can do
According to TechCabal’s Francophone Weekly, the rules allow PSPs to handle cash deposits and withdrawals, payment accounts, transfers, direct debits, card issuing and money transmission. But PSP accounts have limits, cannot go into overdraft and cannot pay interest, so a PSP is not a bank. Providers need minimum capital of 160 million dinars (about $1.2 million), and must keep their head office, payment platform and backup systems inside Algeria.
A cash-heavy market
- Only about 35% of Algerian adults have an account, leaving roughly 20.7 million people outside the formal financial system (World Bank Global Findex 2025).
- Electronic payments reached 939 billion dinars ($7 billion) in 2025, up 46%, but Algerians withdrew almost five times as much cash from ATMs.
- Djezzy has about 17 million subscribers and around 31% of the mobile market, behind state-owned Mobilis and ahead of Ooredoo. The Algerian state has held a majority stake in Djezzy since 2022.
Why it matters
Algeria was the largest North African market without telecom-run mobile money. The approval gives other applicants, including Mobilis, Ooredoo and fintech startups, a clearer picture of what the central bank expects. Much will depend on whether the new wallets can connect to bank accounts, Algérie Poste’s BaridiMob app and the national switch, rather than becoming closed systems.
The move follows a wider African trend of letting telecom companies offer regulated payments, from M-PESA in Kenya to the payment service bank licences Nigeria granted to MTN’s MoMo PSB and Airtel’s SmartCash.
Sources: The Condia, TechCabal.
