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2017-01-01

Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payment Instruments) Regulations 2017

The Central Bank of Lesotho has promulgated regulations to establish a comprehensive licensing and oversight framework for issuers of electronic payment instruments and e-money. The rules mandate strict capital, governance, and operational standards while requiring licensees to safeguard customer funds in trust accounts, maintain robust risk management, and comply with anti-money laundering obligations. The framework governs license application, validity, renewal, suspension, and ongoing supervisory reporting to ensure payment system stability and consumer protection.

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LESOTHO Government Gazette Vol. 62 Friday – 31st March, 2017 No. 16 CONTENTS No. Page LEGAL NOTICE 30 Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payments............................ 119 Instruments) Regulations, 2017 Published by the Authority of His Majesty the King Price: M43.00

LEGAL NOTICE NO. 30 OF 2017 Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payments Instruments) Regulations, 2017 Arrangement of Sections Regulations PART I - PRELIMINARY

  1. Citation and commencement

  2. Interpretation

  3. Objectives

  4. Application PART II - ISSUANCE OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS AND LICENSING

  5. Licensing

  6. Application for a license

  7. Licensing requirements

  8. Determination of application for a license

  9. Licensing conditions

  10. Post application condition

  11. Use of the words “issuer of electronic payment instruments” in title

  12. Register of licensed issuers of electronic payment instruments

  13. Period of validity of a license renewal and licence fees

  14. Withdrawal and suspension of a license PART III - OVERSIGHT OF ISSUERS OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS

  15. Permitted activities

  16. Capital requirements

  17. Payment process requirements

  18. Outsourcing

  19. Prudent management of funds

  20. Obligations applicable to the issuer of electronic payment instruments 119

  21. Financial statements

  22. Audit and accounting

  23. Record keeping

  24. Anti-money laundering and suspicious transactions reporting

  25. Unclaimed funds

  26. Periodic reporting

  27. Inspections

  28. Special audit

  29. Notification and approval of changes

  30. Cessation of the service PART IV - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON E-MONEY

  31. Issuing and redemption of e-money

  32. Terms and conditions

  33. Consumer protection and recourse

  34. Prohibited activities

  35. Trust account

  36. Appointment of an agent

  37. Services performed by an agent

  38. Mitigation on fraudulent and criminal activities PART V - OFFENCES

  39. Penalties PART VII - TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

  40. Transitional provision 120

LEGAL NOTICE NO. 30 OF 2017 Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payments Instruments) Regulations 2017 Pursuant to sections 15, 16 and 35 of the Payment Systems Act of 2014 1 I, RETŠELISITSOE MATLANYANE Governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho, make the following regulations - PART I - PRELIMINARY Citation and commencement

  1. These regulations may be cited as the Payment Systems (Issuers of Elec￾tronic Payment Instruments) Regulations, 2017 and shall come into operation on the date of publication in the Gazette. Interpretation
  2. (1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires - “agency services” means the registration of new e-money ac￾count holders on behalf of an issuer of electronic payment in￾struments issuing e-money and includes services incidental to the performance of these services; “agent” means a person appointed by an issuer of electronic pay￾ment instruments issuing e-money to perform agency services on its behalf; “cash payment services” means the exchange of cash for e-money and e-money for cash; “company” means a body corporate incorporated or registered in accordance with the Companies Act 2011 2 or the Companies Act 1967 3 ; “core capital” means shareholders equity in the form of issued 121

and fully paid-up share of common stock, plus all disclosed re￾serves, less goodwill or any intangible assets; “electronic money” or “e-money” means a monetary value as represented by a claim on its issuer, which is: (a) electronically or magnetically stored; (b) issued against receipt of currency of Lesotho or any other currency authorised by the Central Bank; and (c) accepted as a means of payment by persons other than the issuer; “electronic payment instruments” means payment instrument permitting the transfer of funds in an electronic manner through: (a) the issuance and use of electronic money; or (b) the provision of payment services allowing for the execution of electronic payments including among others the execution of credit transfers and direct debits, money transfers and card pay￾ments, credit cards or debit cards; “e-money balances” means the outstanding and unclaimed bal￾ance of e-money belonging to an e-money holder that has been put in the trust account and that can be used as to make payments at a merchant’s premises; “e-money holder” means a person who has a claim on an e￾money issuer; “e-money issuer” means a company which issues e-money, is responsible for the payment obligation and assumes the liabili￾ties for the e-money issued. An e-money issuer may be either a financial institution licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, 2012 4 or its Guidelines to issue e-money or an issuer of elec￾tronic payment instruments licensed under Part III of these reg￾122

ulations to issue e-money; “financial institution” has the meaning assigned to it in the Fi￾nancial Institutions Act, 2012; “independent system auditor” means a person with adequate qualifications and recognized by international systems auditing bodies; “interoperable” means the commercial interconnectivity between providers of different payment systems or payment instruments including the technical capability to interact and exchange in formation and messages; “issuer of electronic payment instruments” means a company li￾censed to issue electronic payment instruments in accordance with Part III; “key management official” means a managing director, chief ex￾ecutive officer, chairman of the board of directors, director, pres￾ident, principal officer, chief financial officer or treasurer and their deputies or equivalents and any other person who occupies the same level of management or holds a position of decision making; “merchant” means an entity which accepts e-money as payment for goods or services; “operational risk” is risk that hardware and software problems, or human error, or malicious attack will cause a system to break down or malfunction giving rise to financial exposures and pos￾sible losses; “outsourcing risk” is a risk introduced by subcontracting or out￾sourcing certain services or operations; “outstanding e-money liabilities” means the unutilised amount of e-money which has been issued and the utilised amount of e￾money which is pending payment to merchants; 123

“payment instruments” has the meaning assigned to it in the Pay￾ment Systems Act 2014; “principal shareholder” has the meaning assigned to it in the Fi￾nancial Institutions Act, 2012; “suspicious transactions” means a transaction where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the transaction is related to a money laundering offence or a terrorist activity financing of￾fence; “the Act” means the Payment Systems Act 2014; “the Central Bank” means the Central Bank of Lesotho; “trust account” means a dedicated account held in a supervised bank in Lesotho, that holds e-money balances and that operates in accordance with Schedule 4; “unclaimed fund’’ means moneys held by issuer of electronic payment instrument and in respect of which the owner has not, for such period as determined by the Central Bank, communi￾cated with such issuer of electronic payment instruments or in any other manner indicated an interest in the property. (2) All other words used have the meaning assigned to them under the Payment Systems Act, 2014. Objectives 3. The objective of these regulations is to provide for the licensing and oversight of issuers of electronic payment instruments including issuance of e￾money as well as general provisions applying to e-money issuers. Application 4. (1) These regulations apply to issuers of electronic payment instru￾ments. (2) Part V applies to e-money issuers, including financial institu￾124

tions: Provided that they are allowed to issue e-money under these regulations or under the Financial Institutions Act, 2012 or any regulations made thereunder. PART II - ISSUANCE OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS AND LICENSING Licensing 5. A company shall not conduct the business of issuer of electronic payment instruments unless it is licensed under Part III or as a financial institution under the Financial Institutions Act, 2012 or any regulations thereunder. Application for a license 6. A company which intends to conduct business in Lesotho as an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall submit a written application to the Cen￾tral Bank for licensing using the application form set out in Schedule 1 and ac￾companied by the information set out therein. Licensing requirements 7. (1) The Central Bank may refuse to grant a license if any of the fol￾lowing conditions is not met: (a) the applicant shall be a company with a registered of￾fice in Lesotho; (b) the applicant shall immediately before the granting of a license hold an amount of core capital as set out in Schedule 2; (c) the applicant shall satisfy the Central Bank that: (i) its principal shareholders are fit and proper per￾sons; (ii) the key management officials are fit and proper and possess appropriate knowledge and experi￾125

ence to issue e-money and provide electronic payment services; (iii) it has a board of directors as prescribed by the Companies Act 2011, whose major responsi￾bilities shall include: (aa) to determine, review and approve strate￾gies, business plans and significant poli￾cies, including its risk appetite and mon￾itor management’s performance in im￾plementing them; (bb) to set corporate values and clear lines of responsibility and accountability that are communicated throughout the organisa￾tion; (cc) to ensure competent management; (dd) to ensure that the operations of the busi￾ness are conducted prudently, and within the framework of relevant laws and poli￾cies; (ee) to ensure that comprehensive risk man￾agement policies, processes and infra￾structure, and effective operationalisa￾tion of the risk controls to manage the various types of risks, are in place and effective; and (ff) to establish an effective internal audit function; (v) it has a business plan which shows a forecast budget cal￾culation for the first 3 years, under which appropriate and proportionate systems, resources and procedures shall be employed by the company to operate soundly; 126

(vi) in case of issuance of e-money, it has taken adequate measures for the purpose of safeguarding e-money hold￾ers funds in accordance with Schedule 4; (vii) it has robust governance arrangements for its electronic payment instrument issuance business, including a clear organisational structure with well-defined, transparent and consistent lines of responsibility; (viii) it has established adequate operational arrangements for the payment instruments offered, and services, which in￾clude the following: (aa) rules and procedures stating the rights and lia￾bilities of the issuer and the user, and the risks that may be incurred; (bb) measures to ensure prudent management of the funds collected from customers; (cc) measures to ensure the safety, security and op￾erational reliability of the payment instrument, including contingency arrangements; and (dd) measures to ensure separate records and ac￾counts for its payment instrument activities from its other business activities; (ix) it has effective procedures to identify, manage, monitor and report any risks to which it might be exposed, which are proportionate to the nature, scale and complexity of the payment instrument to be issued; (x) it has adequate internal control mechanisms, including sound administrative and accounting procedures, which are comprehensive and proportionate to the nature, scale and complexity of the payment instrument to be issued. 127

(2) In determining the fitness and propriety of key management of￾ficials referred to in subregulation (1)(c)(i), the Central Bank shall request all necessary information as set out in Schedule 6. (3) The Central Bank may specify other criteria as and when neces￾sary. Determination of application for a licence 8. (1) The Central Bank shall determine an application for a license within 3 months beginning with the date on which it received the complete ap￾plication. (2) At any time after receiving an application and before determin￾ing it, the Central Bank may, if it considers the application as incomplete, require the applicant to provide it with such further information as it reasonably consid￾ers necessary to enable it to determine the application. (3) If the Central Bank makes a request for further information under subregulation (2), the Central Bank is not obliged to consider the applica￾tion until the applicant concerned provides the information so requested. (4) The applicant may withdraw its application, by giving the Cen￾tral Bank notice, at any time before the Central Bank determines it. (5) The Central Bank shall either - (a) grant a license for the issuance of electronic payment in￾struments; or, (b) refuse to grant such a license. (6) The Central Bank may subject the license to the conditions that it considers appropriate, in accordance with regulation (10) and thereafter give the applicant notice of its decision. (7) In case of granting of a license, the notice shall state the date on which the license takes effect. (8) If the Central Bank decides to grant a license to the applicant, it 128

shall enter it into its register as soon as practicable. Licensing conditions 9. (1) In granting a licence, the Central Bank may impose conditions to be satisfied by the licensee, as it considers appropriate. (2) A condition may, in particular, be imposed so as to require the licensee to take a specified action or to refrain from taking a specified action. (3) A condition may be imposed by reference to the licensee’s rela￾tionship with its group or other members of its group. (4) Where - (a) an applicant intends to carry on business activities other than the issuance of electronic payment instruments; and (b) the Central Bank considers that the carrying out of such other business activities will impair, or is likely to impair - (i) the financial soundness of the applicant; or (ii) the Central Bank’s effective supervision of the applicant, the Central Bank may require the ap￾plicant to establish a separate body corporate to carry on the issuance of electronic payment in￾struments, and impose the conditions that it deems appropriate. (5) Any condition imposed upon the licensee by the Central Bank shall expire at the end of such period as the Central Bank may have specified in the licence. (6) The Central Bank may prescribe other conditions as it deems fit. 129

Post-application conditions 10. (1) Where the Central Bank is satisfied with the documentation sub￾mitted in accordance with regulation 7, it may require the applicant to conduct a pilot of the service during a period to be prescribed by the Central Bank. (2) The pilot phase may be subject to a system audit by an inde￾pendent system auditor whose results shall be submitted directly to the Central Bank and the costs incurred in the application process including that of the system audit shall be borne by the applicant. (3) The Central Bank may refuse to grant a licence in case of an unsatisfactory outcome of the pilot of the service. (4) Where satisfied by the outcome of the pilot phase, the Central Bank may grant a license with or without additional conditions. Use of the words “issuer of electronic payment instruments” in title 11. No person other than an issuer of electronic payment instruments li￾censed under Part III shall use the word “issuer of electronic payment instru￾ments” or any of its derivatives in any language, or make any representation to this effect in any bill-head, letter-paper, notice, advertisement or in any other manner whatsoever for the purpose of transacting business in Lesotho. Register of licensed issuers of electronic payment instruments 12. The Central Bank shall establish a register of all licensed issuers of elec￾tronic payment instruments, with details of their registered offices. Period of validity of license, renewal and licence fees 13. (1) A license shall be granted for a period of one year and shall be subject to the licensing fee set out in Schedule 3. (2) A licensed company shall, so long as its licence has not been with￾drawn or suspended in terms of these regulations, pay to the Central Bank a li￾cence fee as prescribed in these regulations. 130

(3) The Central Bank may, from time to time, amend the fees payable. (4) An application for renewal of a license as an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall be made to the Central Bank at least 2 months prior to the expiry of the license and shall be: (a) in the application Form for renewal as set out in Sched￾ule 7; (b) accompanied by any other information as the Central Bank may require and submitted with the proof of pay￾ment of the annual renewal fees as set out in Schedule 3. Withdrawal and suspension of license 14. (1) The Central Bank may withdraw or suspend a license granted to a company and remove it from the register at any time if: (a) the company has not issued electronic payment instru￾ments within 12 months beginning with the date on which the license was granted; (b) the company requests, or consents to the withdrawal of the license; (c) the company ceases to engage in business activity for more than 30 days; (d) the company has obtained a license through false state￾ments or by any other irregular means; (e) the company no longer meets, or is unlikely to meet, any of the licensing conditions set out in these regulations and or license; (f) the company would constitute a threat to the stability of a payment system by continuing its business of issuing 131

of electronic payment instruments; (g) the withdrawal is desirable in order to protect the inter￾ests of consumers; or (h) the company’s issuance of electronic payment instru￾ments contravenes the provisions of the Act or these reg￾ulations. (2) Before withdrawing a license, the Central Bank shall give the li￾censee notice of its intention to do so, and shall afford the licensee a reasonable opportunity to show cause why the license shall not be withdrawn. (3) The Central Bank shall automatically withdraw the license if the licensee is declared insolvent or if, for whatever reason, it loses any license, other than its licence under these regulations, or any license which allows it to operate its business in Lesotho. (4) After taking a decision to withdraw a license, the Central Bank shall notify the issuer of electronic payment instruments and shall issue a public notice in such manner as it may deem appropriate. PART III - OVERSIGHT OF ISSUERS OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS Permitted activities 15. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments may, in addition to his activity of issuance of electronic payment instruments, engage in the provi￾sion of operational and closely related ancillary services, including - (a) ensuring the execution of payment transactions; (b) provision of financial services in partnership with finan￾cial institutions, as may be approved by the Central Bank; and (c) distribution of interest accrued on the trust account to e-money holders in accordance with the methodology approved by the Central Bank. 132

(2) An issuer of electronic payment instruments may conduct other commercial or business activities subject to prior written approval of the Central Bank. Capital requirements 16. An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall, at the time of licens￾ing and at all times, hold a core capital as set out in Schedule 2. Payment process requirements 17. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall - (a) provide the Central Bank with a detailed payment man￾agement value chain that covers the entire process of ex￾ecution of payments, including customer registration and management, customer service, dispute resolution arrangements and finality of transaction settlement; (b) ensure that the amount of the e-money is credited in real time to the e-money holder’s account upon receipt of the instruction from the e-money holder. (2) An issuer of electronic payment instruments may not revoke an electronic transfer once the transaction settlement is completed, unless the issuer has sufficient grounds to reverse the transaction in line with the error resolution procedures that the issuer has in place. Outsourcing 18. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments may enter into an agreement to outsource its operational functions of providing electronic payment instruments. (2) Where an issuer of electronic payment instruments intends to outsource its functions under sub-regulation (1), it shall notify the Central Bank prior to implementation of the outsourcing agreement. (3) Where an issuer of electronic payment instruments has out￾sourced the performance of its operational functions, it shall take all necessary 133

steps to ensure compliance with these regulations. (4) Notwithstanding sub-regulation (1), an issuer of electronic pay￾ment instruments is responsible for anything done or omitted by any of its em￾ployees or branch or any other entity executing transactions on its behalf or to which activities are outsourced, as well as, in case of issuance of e-money, by any acts carried out by its agent. (5) For purposes of this regulation, an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall not outsource its material operational functions in such a way as to impair - (a) the quality of internal control of the issuer of electronic payment instruments; and (b) the ability of the Central Bank to monitor compliance of the issuer of electronic payment instruments with the Act and these regulations. (6) For the purposes of sub-regulation (5), an operational function shall be regarded as material if a defect or failure in its performance would ma￾terially impair - (a) the continuing compliance by the issuer of electronic payment instruments with the requirements of its li￾censing obligations under these regulations; (b) its financial performance; or (c) the soundness or the continuity of its services. (7) Where an issuer of electronic payment instruments outsources a material operational function under these regulations, it shall ensure that: (a) the outsourcing does not result in the delegation of its core responsibilities; (b) its relationship and obligations to its customers are not altered; 134

(c) its licensing requirements are not undermined, includ￾ing any conditions imposed by the Central Bank. (8) The Central Bank shall continue to exercise its oversight and su￾pervisory powers under these regulations in respect of third parties to whom functions have been outsourced. Prudent management of funds 19. An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall have the following obligations - (a) manage the funds collected from customers prudently; (b) in case of issuance of e-money, within a period of 30 days - (i) ensure that e-money balance refunds are made to e-money holders; and (ii) ensure that payments are made to merchants for services rendered relating to e-money; (c) ensure that it maintains sufficient liquidity for its daily opera￾tions. (d) avoid amalgamation of funds by managing e-money funds sep￾arately from the working capital funds through the use of the trust account. Obligations applicable to the issuer of electronic payment instruments 20. (1) In addition to other requirements stated in these regulations, an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall - (a) ensure that the proposed issuance of electronic payment instruments meets all the requirements specified in these regulations and others that may be set by the Cen￾tral Bank from time to time; (b) ensure that the service maintains electronic audit trails 135

and reporting mechanisms that meet operational, finan￾cial, regulatory and other reporting requirements; (c) impose a sound risk management framework for the services; (d) use systems capable of being or becoming interoperable with other issuers of electronic payment instruments, financial institutions and other payment systems both in the country and internationally; (e) not effect the transfer of funds for an amount which ex￾ceeds the credit balance in the relevant account; (f) abide by the provisions of Financial Institutions Act in sofar as acceptance of deposits from the general pub￾lic is concerned; (g) enable the Central Bank to conduct its oversight activi￾ties and system review at any point in time, including oversight in the form of on-site inspection; (h) on a monthly basis, submit to the Central Bank informa￾tion stipulated under regulation 27(1)(b) and (c). (2) In addition to the provisions of sub-regulation (1), an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall conduct its activities in a manner that does not preclude the Central Bank from carrying out its supervisory and regulatory functions. Financial statements 21. An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements of internationally accepted ac￾counting practices or standards as adopted by the Lesotho Institute of Account￾ants. Audit and accounting 22. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall, annually, no￾136

tify the Central Bank of its intention to appoint an independent auditor, who shall be approved by the Central Bank. (2) An independent auditor appointed under sub-regulation (1) shall be a member of the Lesotho Institute of accountants and shall not hold the ap￾pointment for a period exceeding 5 years unless otherwise exempted by the Cen￾tral Bank. (3) The duties of an auditor appointed under these regulations shall include, but not limited to the following - (a) to audit operations of the issuer of electronic payment instruments; (b) to submit to the issuer of electronic payment instruments audit information or reports; (c) to submit to the Central Bank information relating to the audit when so required; (d) to report to the Central Bank any irregularity in the man￾agement of its activity as issuer of electronic payment instruments which has come to his notice during the audit. (4) The furnishing of information in good faith by an auditor under sub-regulation (3)(c) shall in no circumstances be held to constitute a contra￾vention of any provision of the law or code of professional conduct to which such auditor may be subject. (5) If the auditor is unable to make an audit report contemplated in sub-regulation (3) or to make it without qualification, he shall make a report ex￾plaining the facts or circumstances which prevented him from making his audit report with or without qualification. (6) An issuer of electronic payment instruments which carries on activities other than the issuance of electronic payment instruments shall provide to the Central Bank separate accounting information in respect of its issuance of electronic payment instruments. 137

Record keeping 23. (1) An issuers of electronic payment instruments shall maintain - (a) records of its activities and keep them for at least 10 years from the date on which the record was created; (b) an accurate and complete record of accounts opened which shall include but not limited to - (i) the date on which the account was first created; (ii) the identity of the e-money holders or customers; (iii) the individual balances held by such e-money holders or customers; and (iv) the transactions carried out by them, the aggre￾gate e-float and the amount in the trust account. (2) Where an issuer of electronic payment instruments has listed agents, it shall maintain a record of the following - (a) the procedure for recruiting agents; (b) a copy of the agreement between the parties; (c) the policies and procedures approved by the issuer of electronic payment instruments for agents when provid￾ing e-money services; (d) a description of the technology to be used by the agent to deliver the services; (e) volumes and values of transactions carried out by each agent; (f) a risk assessment report of the provision of the services through agents including the control measures applied to mitigate the risks; 138

(g) the proposed security measures to be adopted for the premises of agents; (h) the agent manual and any material used for training agents; (i) information about the agents which includes but not lim￾ited to the following - (i) the names, addresses and contact numbers of the agents; (ii) the identity of the persons responsible for the management of the agent; and (iii) a register of agents whose services have been suspended or terminated and the reasons for such suspension or termination. (j) such other information as the Central Bank may require from the issuer of electronic payment instruments from time to time. Anti-money laundering and suspicious transactions reporting 24. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall ensure that the design and implementation of its payment system, reduces the opportunities and incentives for abuse and provides the means to filter out suspicious activities by - (a) putting in place Know Your Customer procedures as prescribed under the Money Laundering (Accountable Institutions) Guidelines 2013 5 as may be amended from time to time; and (b) ensuring that agents comply with the Money Launder￾ing and Proceeds of Crime Act 2008 6 , and its imple￾menting regulations. (2) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall report any knowledge or suspicion of money laundering related to a specific customer or 139

transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit forthwith by using the relevant sus￾picious transactions report. (3) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall ensure that all transactions in Lesotho are in a currency recognized as legal tender in Lesotho. (4) Where transactions are to be made in a foreign currency between residents, the issuer of electronic payment instruments shall seek permission from the Central Bank to conduct such transaction. (5) Prior permission of the Central Bank is required where an issuer of electronic payment instruments who intends to conduct regional cross border transactions, which shall be settled through a regional clearing house. (6) Where transactions are conducted outside the jurisdiction of re￾gional clearing house, issuers of electronic payment instruments may partner with licensed money transfer operators within the concerned jurisdiction. (7) Prior to transacting with the operator contemplated in sub-regu￾lation (6), an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall be satisfied that the operator complies with the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act 2008, and its implementing regulations. Unclaimed funds 25. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall, in an effort to curb money laundering and financing of terrorism activities, treat unclaimed funds as follows - (a) whenever an electronic payment instrument has not operated for a period of up to 2 years, such an account shall be considered as dormant in the books of issuer of electronic payment instruments; (b) an account contemplated in paragraph (a) shall be trans￾ferred to a separate register of dormant accounts in the books of an issuer of electronic payment instruments; (c) no service charge or levy shall be imposed on an account contemplated under paragraph (b); 140

(d) where an account contemplated in paragraph (b) remains unclaimed for 2 years, an issuer of electronic payment instruments concerned shall publicise in the media of wide circulation; (e) where funds remain unclaimed after a period one year from the date of publication in the media, the funds shall be transferred forthwith by the issuer of electronic payment instruments concerned to the Central Bank; (f) an issuer of electronic payment instruments shall be relieved of all liability for any claim in respect of un￾claimed funds that have been transferred to the Central Bank; (g) the right to claim funds contemplated under regulation 26 shall remain with the rightful owner or the owner’s heirs or assignees; (h) funds claimed under these regulations shall not accrue any interest; (i) a licensed issuer of electronic payment instrument hold￾ing funds presumed to be unclaimed under these regula￾tions shall annually report such holding to the Central Bank. (2) Failure to comply with sub-regulation (1)(h) constitutes an of￾fence punishable under Part VI. Periodic reporting 26. An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall submit to the Central Bank - (a) its annual audited financial statements not later than 3 months after its financial year end, which statements shall show clearly the income and expenditure of the business together with its assets and liabilities; 141

(b) statistical information for each month in the format pre￾scribed by the Central Bank on a date that will be de￾termined from time to time; and (c) any other information that the Central Bank may request from time to time. Inspections 27. (1) In accordance with section 16 of the Act, the Central Bank may - (a) conduct on-site inspections at the premises of an issuer of electronic payment instruments and its agents; (b) inspect, at any time, the books of accounts, trust account and other documents of an issuer of electronic payment instruments including those of its agents and agent; (c) by notice, at any time, require an issuer of electronic payment instruments or, in case of issuance of e-money, require any of its agent or agents to provide informa￾tion to the Central Bank, in such manner and form as the Central Bank may specify. Special audit 28. (1) The Central Bank may appoint an appropriate professional to conduct a special audit on the operations of an issuer of electronic payment in￾struments, whose cost shall be borne by the issuer of electronic payment instru￾ments. (2) If the Central Bank has reason to believe that the operations of an issuer of electronic payment instruments are being conducted in a manner that is detrimental to the interest of the e-money holders or customers or are in contravention of the terms and conditions imposed, it may take any of the fol￾lowing courses of action - (a) issue directives regarding measures to be taken to im￾prove the management and provision of the issuance of 142

payment instruments services; (b) suspend or withdraw the license; or (c) impose any other conditions as it may consider appro￾priate. Notification and approval of changes 29. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments who intends to in￾troduce a substantial change or enhancement in its service shall seek prior au￾thorisation from the Central Bank. (2) For the purpose of sub-regulation (1), a substantial change or en￾hancement shall refer to a change or enhancement which expands the scope or, the nature of its service and may include but not limited to the following - (a) additional functionality of its service such as accessing new electronic channels; (b) changing any major partners or sub-contractors in the business; or (c) any changes to the documentation and information pro￾vided during the application process. Cessation of the service 30. (1) Any issuer of electronic payment instruments who wishes to cease carrying on the business or activity of issuance of electronic payment in￾struments, shall notify the Central Bank in writing. (2) The notification contemplated in sub-regulation (1) shall be made 90 days before cessation of operations. (3) The Central Bank shall have powers to order the issuer of elec￾tronic payment instruments to take any action prior to exiting from the service. 143

PART IV - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON E-MONEY Issuing and redemption of e-money 31. (1) An e-money issuer shall - (a) on receipt of funds, issue without delay electronic money at par value; and (b) at the request of the e-money holder, redeem at par value, the monetary value of the e-money held. (2) An e-money issuer shall provide refunds of e-money balances in their e-money holders’ accounts on demand of e-money account holder. (3) The refund contemplated in sub-regulation (2) shall be made within 5 days of the claim and shall not attract any fees other than the normal withdrawal fees. Terms and conditions 32. (1) An e-money issuer shall ensure that the rights and responsibil￾ities of e-money holders, agents and merchants are clearly stated in the relevant contractual documents or terms and conditions and ensure that they are easily accessible through appropriate channels, including but not limited to the issuer’s website, brochures and registration forms. (2) An e-money holder and a merchant shall be given at least 21 days’ notice before any variation to the terms and conditions may take effect. Consumer protection and recourse 33. (1) An e-money issuer shall put in place measures to address con￾sumer protection, education and privacy and shall ensure that - (a) its user charter, at a minimum, includes its commitment towards ensuring safe operations, privacy of customer information, reliable and quality service, transparency of product and services, and prompt response to en￾quiries, complaints, refunds and disputes; 144

(b) measures to address complaints or queries raised by e-money holders and a dispute resolution mechanism are available; (c) statements on the risk of loss arising from insolvency of issuer, lost or stolen e-money instruments, or fraudu￾lent transactions are provided to e-money holders and merchants. (2) An e-money issuers shall ensure that appropriate and effective procedures for receiving, considering and responding to complaints are put in place, which shall ensure that - (a) information about procedures for handling complaints is easily available to customers at any channel used in the provision of e-money services; (b) agents are trained on receiving complaints and handling their resolution or escalation; (c) a dedicated toll free telephone line for complaint reso￾lution is provided; and (d) records are kept for all complaints lodged and how such complaints were resolved. Prohibited activities 34. An issuer of electronic payment instruments licensed to issue e-money shall not - (a) issue the e-money at a discount; (b) take deposits within the meaning of the Financial Insti￾tutions Act, 2012. Trust account 35. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments licensed to issue e￾money shall deposit the funds collected from e-money holders into a trust ac￾145

count opened at a bank licensed in Lesotho, in accordance with the provisions set out in Schedule 4. (2) An issuer of electronic payment instruments shall ensure that agent accounts are credited within 24 hours following a deposit made in the trust account. Appointment of an agent 36. (1) An issuer of electronic payment instruments may appoint an agent to undertake on its behalf, agency services or cash payment services re￾spectively. (2) In appointing an agent, an issuer of electronic payment instru￾ments shall - (a) exercise due diligence; and (b) carry out suitability assessments of the agent. (3) An agent appointed under subregulation (1) shall be provided with adequate training and support, including a manual containing the policies, rules and operational guidelines needed to ensure safe and efficient provision of services to e-money holders Services performed by an agent 37. An agent appointed under regulation 36, may provide services to multi￾ple e-money issuers provided that - (a) they have a separate contract with each e-money issuer for the provision of such services; and (b) they have the capacity to manage the transactions for the different e-money issuers. Mitigation on fraudulent and criminal activities 38. An issuer of electronic payment instruments licensed to issue e-money shall - 146

(a) as a means to mitigate fraudulent and criminal activities, ensure as a minimum that complete “end-to-end” elec￾tronic audit trails are in place that provide a complete and total record of - (i) all transactions undertaken by a merchant; (ii) all transactions undertaken by an e-money holder; (iii) complete electronic records of all transactions undertaken within any service providers prod￾ucts and services; (b) conduct customer due diligence on potential merchants who apply to participate in its scheme; (c) put in place Know Your Customer procedures as set out in Schedule 5. PART V - PENALTIES Penalties 39. A person who contravenes a provision of these regulations may be liable to the sanctions under sections 18 and 34 of the Act. PART VII - TRANSITIONAL PROVISION Transitional provision 40. A person who commenced issuing e-money under Mobile Money Guide￾lines, 2013 shall be deemed to have been issued a license under these regulations as issuers of electronic payment instruments issuing e-money, and shall be al￾lowed a period of 6 months to comply with the provisions of these regulations. 147

DR. RETŠELISITSOE MATLANYANE GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK OF LESOTHO NOTE

  1. Act No. 11 of 2014
  2. Act No 18 of 2011
  3. Act No. 25 of 1967
  4. Act No. 3 of 2012
  5. L.N. No. 55 of 2013
  6. Act No. 4 of 2008 148

SCHEDULE 1 APPLICATION FOR LICENCE TO OPERATE AS ISSUER OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS (regulation 6) A. APPLICATION FORM APPLICANT’S PARTICULARS Position of the applicant in the named issuance of payment instrument business: Chief Executive Officer Partner Other (Specify) Address of the business: Physical Address Telephone number Fax number Postal Address Email address Website A. 1. If the business is to be operated in such a way that it utilises certain pay￾ment systems please indicate their names below: ......................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................... 2. Please provide details of how the business uses the above payment sys￾tems to conduct its business by stating the number of links including telecoms, hardware and software links of this particular system business to the named sys￾149

tems: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 3. Please state the mode of transferring money to be used: ................................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. 4. Please state if the business is a franchise and the distribution of the already established outlets in the country : .................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 5. Please provide particulars of ALL the sole proprietor/partners/director of issuers ofelectronic payment instruments business: Full Names Nationality Experience in issuing elec￾tronic payment instruments 6. Give details of the electronic payment instruments business’s organisa￾tional structure, management and ownership: ........................................................................................................................ ....................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................... 7. Give details of the volumes and values of transactions expected to be or are currently being processed by the electronic payment instruments business in question: 150

................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 8. Where the electronic payment instruments business is partly owned by a foreign institution/corporation/firm, please indicate below the name and loca￾tion and state the regulatory body that the electronic payment instruments busi￾ness is registered under in that foreign country: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 9. Give details of arrangements or proposed arrangements for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Payment Systems Act of 2014 and these reg￾ulations: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 10. Please briefly outline the risk management measures put in place to ad￾dress liquidity, credit and such other risks: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... 11. Business Plan Please furnish business plan on a separate sheet of paper. Remember to include the following: business model, clientele type, the kind of elec￾tronic payment instruments business service intended to be provided and other such relevant information. 151

I/We, the undersigned, declare that the particulars in this application are true to the best of my/our knowledge and I/we have not suppressed any material fact. I/we understand that if after the issuance of the designation license, it is found that I/we have made any false declaration in this form; the Central Bank of Lesotho may withdraw this license as stipulated in the Payment Systems (Issuers of Electronic Payments Instruments) Regulations, 2016.

Date Authorised Signatory Name in Block Letters Designation

Date Authorised Signator Name in Block Letters Designation 152

B. DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CENTRAL BANK OF LESOTHO

  1. Certification of incorporation as a body corporate constituted under the laws of Lesotho
  2. If applicable, a copy of any license required to operate its business in Lesotho (such as, if applicable, a copy of the licence to operate mobile telecom￾munications services obtained from the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) or any other body with authority to grant such licences in Lesotho.
  3. A description of the payment instrument(s) for which it wants to be li￾censed and its impact on the payment system provider’s business strategy.
  4. In case of issuance of e-money, information regarding the agents.
  5. A technical proposal, including complete system architecture, of the pro￾posed payment instrument including an indication of interoperability of the pro￾posed solution.
  6. Proof of availability of the provider’s Information and Communications Technology security policies including contingency arrangements and disaster recovery plans for the proposed service.
  7. Proof of capital as prescribed in Schedule 2.
  8. Description of customer protection procedures such as customer data and financial records.
  9. Identity qualification of key management officials.
  10. Confirmation of the payment of application fee set out in Schedule 2.
  11. Error resolution procedures.
  12. Any other information the Central Bank may deem relevant in vetting the application. 153

SCHEDULE 2 CORE CAPITAL (regulations 7(1)(b) and 16) Description Core Capital (Maloti) Electronic Payment Instrument Issuer M 500,000 154

SCHEDULE 3 LICENCE FEES (regulation 13(1), (4)(b)) Description Registration Fee License Fee License Renewal Fee Electronic Payment M500 M1000 M1000 Instrument Issuer 155

SCHEDULE 4 TRUST ACCOUNT (regulations 2(1), 7(1)(c)(vi))

  1. An issuer of electronic payment instruments issuing e-money, hereafter “the Issuer”, shall open a trust account (Trust Account) with a licensed com￾mercial bank in Lesotho (Trustee Bank), reflecting all monetary values relating to transactions in E-money payment services.
  2. A Central Bank may from time to time determine the maximum amount which each Trustee Bank is allowed to hold in a Trust Account.
  3. The issuer shall - (a) ensure that the balance on the Trust Account shall at all times be equal to the outstanding (unclaimed) balance of all e-money holders; (b) not transfer the funds to its own account used for normal busi￾ness operations; (c) not commingle the funds held in trust with the funds of any per￾son other than payers and payees on whose behalf the funds are held; (d) employ appropriate risk mitigation strategies to ensure that the funds held in the Trust Account are sufficiently diversified and placed in commercial banks licensed under the Financial Insti￾tutions Act or Government of Lesotho securities; and (e) ensure that the amount of funds held in Trust Account complies with the limits advised by the Central Bank from time to time.
  4. The Trustee bank shall hold funds on behalf of all e-money holders under a Declaration of Trust (the Trust Deed).
  5. A Trust Deed, duly examined and approved by the Central Bank, shall be concluded between the Issuer and a Trustee Bank.
  6. A Trust Deed shall at minimum contain - 156

(a) principal characteristics of the service provided pursuant to the Trust; (b) details of how the fund shall be held and invested; (c) procedures for nomination of the Trustees; (d) the duties, responsibilities and the extent of liability of Trustees; (e) provisions on discontinuation or termination of the Trust and subsequent handling of the Trust Account; (f) procedure of handling of dormant accounts; (g) procedure of handling accounts of deceased persons; (h) rights of system participants and beneficiaries; (i) applicable law and mode of resolution of disputes; (j) where the trustee is a company, duties of the management com￾pany and key particulars of the management arrangement; and (k) use of income generated from the trust fund. 7. A Trust Deed concluded in terms of item 5 shall expressly state that - (a) the Trustee Bank holds all amounts which constitute the Trust Fund, on trust, for the e-money holders; (b) the beneficial entitlement of each e-money holder to the Trust Fund at any time shall be to such amount of the Trust Fund in conventional money as is equal to the amount of e-money in the e-money account of such e￾money holder at that given time; 8. An Issuer shall be entitled to levy certain charges on e-money holders for the operation of the service provided. Where it does so, the e-money account of the relevant e-money holder will be debited by the amount in e-money of the relevant charge and the e-money account of the issuer shall be credited with the relevant amount. 157

  1. The issuer undertakes to the Trustee bank and to the e-money holders that it will not issue any new e-money other than in return for an equal amount in conventional money being paid to and received by the Trustee Bank.
  2. The issuer shall not execute any transfer of any e-money from any emoney account of an amount which exceeds the credit balance of e-money in the relevant emoney account.
  3. The trust money shall not form part of assets of the Trustee Bank and shall not be affected in any manner whatsoever should the Trustee Bank be sub￾ject to liquidation.
  4. The Trust Account shall be subject to regular oversight by the Central Bank which might entail the right to enquire the balances or request the statement print out from time to time.
  5. For the purposes of Anti Money Laundering and other prohibited crimes involving funds transfer, funds in the trust account deposited in the Trustee Bank shall also be regulated by the Central Bank under the Financial Institutions Act,
  7. The provisions relating to unclaimed funds under these regulations, shall also apply to all unclaimed funds that shall be held in the Trust Account.
  8. Ongoing reconciliation shall be performed to ensure that at all times the Trust Account holds the exact amount in circulation.
  9. A Trust account shall earn interest and the interest amount shall be used to cover operational expenses of the Trust Account. Any excess amount shall be declared with the Central Bank, which shall provide guidance regarding its usage. 158

SCHEDULE 5 ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (KYC-CDD) AND SUSPICIOUS TRANS￾ACTIONS REPORTING (regulation 38(c)) A hierarchical approach towards the implementation of KYC/CDD is required to make a success of financial inclusion strategy of e-money services. A three tier KYC/CDD requirement matrix for e-money issuers is therefore stipulated as follows: KYC/CDD LEVEL VERIFICATION E-MONEY REQUIREMENTS TRANSACTION LIMIT LEAST KYC FULL NAMES AND DAILY LIMIT M2,500 SURNAME MONTHLY LIMIT M7,500 PHONE NUMBER PHYSICAL ADDRESS PRACTICAL KYC FULL NAMES AND Daily Limit – M5,000 SURNAME Monthly Limit – M15,000 PHONE NUMBER PHYSICAL ADDRESS PASSPORT NUMBER FULL KYC AS PER KYC require- Daily Limit – M7,500 ments as laid out in the Monthly Limit – M20,000 Money Laundering, Proc￾eeds of Serious Crime and Terrorist Financing Act No.4 of 2008 read with Money Laundering (Acco￾untable Institutions) Guidelines, 2013 159

SCHEDULE 6 PERSONAL QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PROSPECTIVE AND OR EXISTING KEY MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS ASSESSMENT FOR FITNESS AND PROPRIETY TO HOLD OFFICE (regulation 7(2)) 6.1 The following criteria shall be taken into consideration in determining if an individual is fit and proper to hold office: (a) probity, diligence, competence and soundness of judgement; (b) reputation, character, integrity and honesty; (c) history of offence(s) involving fraud, dishonesty and violence; (d) engagement in deceitful, oppressive or improper business prac￾tices or any practices which would discredit him; (e) engagement, associated or conducted himself in a manner which may cast doubt on his fitness, competence and soundness of judgement; (f) contravention of any provision made by or under any written law appearing to the Central Bank to be designed for protecting members of the public against financial loss due to dishonesty, incompetence or malpractice; and (g) Declaration of insolvency. SECTION I - INSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION

  1. Name of the Institution in connection with which this questionnaire is being completed:

  1. Complete legal name (No initials): _____________________________

  2. Other Names Used (Trade Names, Aliases): ______________________

  3. Registration No.:__________________ 160

  4. Tax Registration No. _______________

  5. Complete Address: _______________ Physical Address Postal Address

  1. Telephone: ( ) ______________ Contact person: _______________ SECTION II - PROSPECTIVE KEY MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL
  2. Position held/applied for: ____________________________________
  3. Full Names (Mr/Mrs):_______________________________________
  4. Nationality: ________________________________________________
  5. Date of Birth: ______________________________________________
  6. Place of Birth: ______________________________________________
  7. Complete Address: _________________________________________ Physical Address Postal Address

SECTION III - COMPETENCE AND CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT 14. For the completion of this section, please attach your detailed curriculum vitae showing details of your education, professional qualifications, employment history up to the date of this questionnaire, including for each place of employ￾ment: details of the type of business, your title and the duties attaching to your position; the dates of employment, the name and address of your employer/s, 161

reasons for leaving, the name, position and contact details of two referees. Sealed and send directly to the Bank. 15. (a) List all companies, partnerships, societies, corporations, or other business undertakings in which you are presently a director, partner, trustee, em￾ployee, owner or otherwise involved in the management of.

(b) Do any of the companies/societies/corporation indicated in (i) above, maintain a business relationship with the institution to which you have applied or you are currently part of? If so give particulars

(c) Do any of the companies/societies/corporations indicated in (i) above, prospectively plan to undertake business with this institution? If so give details

(d) Have you ever been or are you currently a beneficial owner or shareholder (holding at least 5% of issued share capital) in any company or cor￾poration engaged in relevant activities as the institution to which you are filling this form for? If so, state: ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................... Name and Address of the company/society/corporation: ___________________ Nature of business:_________________________________________________ 162

Number of shares held:____________________________________________________________ (e) Are you a beneficial owner of any controlling interest in any body corporate, partnership, society or other business undertaking? If so, give particulars, including nature and addresses of business partnership etc.:

  1. Have you ever been disqualified by any Court or by virtue of any statu￾tory enactment from being a director or from acting in the senior management or conduct of the affairs of any financial sector institution whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give details:
  1. Have you ever been found mentally incompetent to manage your own affairs by any medical doctor at any time? Yes □ No □ SECTION IV - INTERGRITY ASSESSMENT
  2. Has any legal proceedings being issued against you in your personal ca￾pacity or against any entity, partnership, society or any other business undertak￾ing to which you are connected as a shareholder, partner, director or senior official? If pending, please give full details of the circumstances, and if not pend￾ing, how as the matter resolved?
  1. Have you ever been refused entry to any profession or vocation whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give facts: 163
  1. Have you ever been the subject of investigation/disciplinary procedures or publicly criticized by any professional body to which you belong or have be￾longed whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give details:
  1. Have you ever been dismissed or requested to resign from any office or employment whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give details:
  1. Have you been found civilly or criminally liable by any Court for fraud, misfeasance or other misconduct towards any partnership, business undertaking or corporation in connection with its formation or management and or any mem￾ber or customer thereof in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give details:
  1. Have you ever been convicted of any criminal offence involving dishon￾esty and or offences relating to financial legislations? If so, give details:

SECTION V - FINANCIAL INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT 24. Has a bankruptcy/insolvency petition ever been served on you, or any organization in which you were a shareholder or held the position of director or senior management in any jurisdiction? If pending, give details of the circum￾stances and, if not pending, how was the matter resolved?

164

  1. Has any bank or other financial institution with which you or any busi￾ness undertaking owned, controlled or managed by you did any institution ever commenced legal action/court proceedings or declined doing any new business with you or your undertaking as a result of outstanding debts owed by you or the undertaking, or due to your not honouring other facilities afforded you (e.g. guarantee, etc.) by these institutions? If so, give details of the dispute and the manner in which the issue was resolved:
  1. Has any loan or credit facility (or part thereof) extended to you by any financial or lending institution, been restructured, renegotiated, provided against or been the subject of a write off or debt forgiveness for reasons of non-payment by you? If so please provide full details of the debt/s, the circumstances sur￾rounding the actions and the current status:
  1. Whether in Lesotho or elsewhere, have you ever been a shareholder, di￾rector or been directly concerned in the management or conduct of affairs of any legal entity, society, partnership or any other business undertaking which has become insolvent and or gone into liquidation, whilst you were associated with the entity? If so, give details of the circumstances, including, name of company, name of liquidator and address of the liquidator:
  1. Are you a subject of a judgment debt which is unsatisfied, either in whole or in part, whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so, give details:

165

  1. Documentary Requirements: For the completion of this section, please submit to the Bank: (a) A certified statement of your assets and liabilities; (b) Latest tax compliance certificate (c) Two letters, duly certified and notarized, from financial institu￾tions with whom you have had dealings for the last two years on the performance of past and present accounts such as, unautho￾rized overdraft on deposit accounts, past-due or delinquent accounts. SECTION VI - DUTY OF CARE
  2. (a) Have you ever been subjected to a fine or punishment of any kind by any professional body because of failure to exercise duty of care in your capacity as a director, shareholder and or senior management official? Yes □ No □ (b) Have you ever, in any jurisdiction, had an administrative order made against you? Yes □ No □ If so, give particulars: ______________________________________________

(c) Has any financial institution with which you or any business un dertaking owned, controlled or managed by you does business, ever threatened or commenced legal action/court proceedings or declined doing new business with you due to your not honoring other facilities afforded you (e.g guarantee, etc.) by these insti￾tutions? If so, give details of the dispute and the manner in which the issue was resolved?

166

(d) Have you ever been charged and found guilty of any crime on grounds of negligence by a competent court whether in Lesotho or elsewhere? If so give details

(e) Has any third party to whom you were directly or indirectly deal ing with suffered loss-whether financial or otherwise because of the non-disclosure of information, lack of knowledge, wrong in￾formation given by yourself in your professional capacity? If so, give details

(f) Has any decision or your conduct been adjudged by a compe￾tent court of law or any regulatory authority as prejudicial, bias, overriding the objectivity and bearing conflict of interest? If so, give details

SECTION VII - GENERAL 31. Whether in Lesotho or elsewhere, have you ever been a shareholder, di￾rector of, or directly concerned in the management of any financial sector insti￾tution? (a) Which has been served with a petition to wind up Yes □ No □ (b) Which has been wound up by a court Yes □ No □ (c) The license of which has been revoked Yes □ No □ (d) Which has been the subject of legal sued Yes □ No □ 167

(e) Whose business has been adjudged to have been conducted imprudently or, fraudulently? Yes □ No □ (f) Will you be actively engaged in the financial sector institutions to which this application relates and devote the major portion of your time thereto Yes □ No □ (g) Please describe the particular duties and responsibilities that you will hold:

(h) If you are completing this questionnaire in the capacity of direc tor, please indicate whether you will have any executive respon￾sibility for the management of the institution’s business:

(i) Do you, at all times while acting in your capacity as a director or executive Officer/manager of the institution, undertake to: (a) Act in good faith towards the institution; (b) Avoid conflict of interest situations between your other interests and the Interests of the insti tution; and (c) Place the interests of the institution and its, clients above all other interests?

  1. Before you assume your responsibility in the institution, you must have acquainted yourself with your duties and responsibility vis-à-vis your duties and responsibilities as contained in the applicable law, regulations and guidelines. 168

SECTION VI - OATH 33. I _________________________________, do hereby make oath and say that all stated herein is to the best of my knowledge and belief true and correct. That withholding information which if submitted would most likely render me unfit will constitute a breach of these guidelines which will result in my expulsion from acting in the position indicated in this guideline. I further undertake, that as long as I continue to be a director and or senior management official in this institution, I will notify the Central Bank of Lesotho of any ma￾terial changes to or affecting the completeness and/or accuracy of the information herein supplied by me as soon as possible, but in no event later than fifteen (15) days from the day that the changes come to my attention. Signed at ________________ on the _____ day of __________ 20 By the Deponent who acknowledges that he/she has read and understands the contents herein. In the presence of Commissioner of Oaths Signature: ________________ Name: __________________ Capacity: _______________ Address: _______________ Please attach your certified copy of a valid certificate to practice as a Com￾missioner of Oaths. 169

SCHEDULE 7 APPLICATION FORM FOR RENEWAL OF A LICENSE (regulation 13(4)(a))

  1. NAME OFAPPLICANT:......................................................................... (In bold capital letters in the order that the names appear on registration certifi￾cate etc.) Application for __________________________________________________
  2. APPLICANT’S CONTACTS 2.1. Physical address: _____________________________________ Town: _______________________________________ Postal Address: ________________________________ 2.2 Contact details Tel. no.: _________________ Fax no.: _____________ Other Tel. no: _________________________________ Email address: _________________________________
  3. DECLARATION I/We hereby certify that the information we have provided in this appli￾cation is true and correct to the best of my/our knowledge. I/We also un derstand that it is an offence to give false information in support of any application Name: ____________________________________________________ Designation: _______________________________________________ Signature: _________________________________________________ 170

Date: ____________________________________________________ COMPLETED APPLICATION FORMS SHOULD BE RETURNED TO: Central Bank of Lesotho Cnr Airport & Moshoeshoe Roads P.O. Box 1184 Maseru 100, Lesotho together with: (a) the applicant must submit a certified copy of a valid license from relevant licensing authority, where applicable; (b) details of changes in the applicant’s governance arrangements and internal control mechanism, including administrative, risk management, accounting procedures, which demonstrates that these governance arrangements, control mechanisms and proce￾dures are proportionate, appropriate, sound and adequate. (c) details of changes in the identity of: (i) its owners; (ii) its directors and persons responsible for the management of the mobile money services; (c) the trust account holding. 171

172 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY APPLICATION ACCEPTANCE SECTION NO. Application Requirements Receiving Checking officer officer 1 Is the application form duly completed? 2 Is the application signed, giving applicant’s name and designation? 3 Is the authorization applied for within the Payment System (Issu￾ers of Electronic Payment Instrume￾nts)Regulations 2016? Receiving officer comments ________________________________________ Receiving officer’s name/signature/date______________________________ Checking officer’s comments _______________________________________ Checking officer’s name /signature/date ______________________________ Printed by the Government Printer, P.O. Box 268, Maseru 100 Lesotho

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