Bank of Namibia Determination on Interchange Rates and Off-Us ATM Withdrawal Fees

N$8.00 WINDHOEK - 7 July 2025 No. 8678
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
OF THE
REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
CONTENTS
Page
GENERAL NOTICE
No. 453 Determination under the Payment System Management Act, 2023 ..................................................... 1

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General Notice
BANK OF NAMIBIA
No. 453 2025
DETERMINATION UNDER THE PAYMENT SYSTEM MANAGEMENT ACT, 2023 In my capacity as Governor of the Bank of Namibia (The Bank), and under the powers vested in the Bank under section 45 of the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023), I hereby issue this Determination on Interchange Rates and Off-Us ATM Withdrawal Fees (PSD-11). This Determination shall become effective on the date of publication in the Gazette. J. !GAWAXAB GOVERNOR BANK OF NAMIBIA Windhoek, 20 June 2025

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Payment System Determination (PSD-11)
DETERMINATION ON INTERCHANGE RATES AND OFF-US ATM WITHDRAWAL FEES Arrangement of Paragraphs
PART I
PRELIMINARY
PARAGRAPH

1. Short Title
2. Application
3. Definitions
4. Authorisation
   PART II
   STATEMENT OF POLICY
5. Purpose
6. Scope
7. The Position of the Bank
8. Application of the Act
   PART III
   IMPLEMENTATION AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
9. The Bank’s Approach to Determine Interchange Rates
10. Card Interchange Rates
11. Instant Payment Interchange Rates
12. Off-Us ATM Withdrawal Fees
13. Additional Requirements and Conditions
    PART IV
    OTHER REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
14. Revision Principles and Intervals
15. Oversight
16. Administrative Penalties
17. Repeal
18. General
19. Effective date
20. Enquiries
    PART I: PRELIMINARY
21. Short Title – Determination on Interchange Rates and Off-Us ATM Withdrawal Fees.
22. Application – This Determination shall apply to all card and instant payment participants in
    the National Payment System.
23. Definitions – In this Determination, unless the context otherwise indicates, the words and
    expressions used herein shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023), and cognate expressions shall have corresponding meanings:

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“Acquirer” means a domestic financial institution or non-bank financial institution that contracts with a merchant to accept payments for goods and services from interoperable payment cards. “Acquirer IPP” means a domestic banking institution or non-bank financial institution that contracts with merchants to enable the acceptance of interoperable instant payment transactions. “Act” means the Payment System Management Act, 2023 (Act No. 14 of 2023). “ATMs” means domestic interoperable automated teller machines. “Bank” means the Bank of Namibia as referred to in section 2 of the Bank of Namibia Act, 2020 (Act No. 1 of 2020). “Card participants” means banking institutions and non-bank financial institutions, including their agents, that issue and/or acquire payment cards and provide ATM payment services in the National Payment System. “Cashback with purchase” means a facility offered by retailers in collaboration with a card participant whereby cash is paid out to the user together with a purchase of goods and/or services using a payment card. “Credit card” means an interoperable payment card with a pre-set credit limit issued to a user by an issuer to be used at payment channels including ATMs. “Debit card” means an interoperable payment card linked to a banking account issued to a user by an issuer to be used at payment channels including ATMs. “Electronic money” or “e-money” means monetary value as represented by a claim on its issuer, that is:
(a) stored electronically; magnetically or digitally; (b) issued on receipt of funds (legal tender) of an amount equivalent to the monetary value issued; (c) accepted as a means of payment by persons other than the issuer; and (d) redeemable upon demand for cash in Namibia Dollar. “Fuel transactions” means all card payment and instant payment purchases of fuel. “Hybrid card” means an interoperable payment card linked to a banking account with a dual messaging functionality issued to a user by an issuer to be used at payment channels including ATMs. “Instant payment participants or IPP” means banking institutions and non-bank financial institutions, including their agents, that offer and/or acquire instant payment transactions excluding Near Real-time Credits (NRTC) transactions in the National Payment System. “Instant payment transactions” means a payment process where funds are transferred from the payer to the payee in real-time, with immediate confirmation of the transaction’s success or failure. This excludes NRTC transactions. “Interchange rate” means the rate computed by the Bank intended to compensate the issuer or issuer IPP for the cost of performing work to facilitate a transaction performed at payment channels excluding ATMs.

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“Issuer” means a domestic financial institution or non-bank financial institution that issues interoperable payment cards that can be used at payment card channels including ATMs. “Issuer IPP” means a domestic banking institution or non-bank financial institution that provides users with access to an interoperable instant payment enabled store of value that allows users to initiate and authorise payments. “Near Real-time Credits” means a payment process where funds are transferred from the payer to the payee near real-time within the domestic electronic funds transfer system. “Off-us ATM withdrawal fee” means the fee determined by the Bank that an issuer or issuer IPP can charge their user each time the user withdraws cash from an ATM operated by a banking institution or non-bank financial institution other than the issuer or issuer IPP. “Payment channels” means traditional point-of-sale (POS) devices, electronic commerce websites, mobile commerce devices and other digital channels where an interoperable payment card transaction or instant payment transaction can be processed. “Payment system operator” means a person authorised under the Act to operate a payment system. “Pure cashback or cashback without purchase” means a facility offered by retailers in collaboration with a card participant whereby cash is paid out to the user without the purchase of goods and services using a payment card. “Retail transactions” means all payment card or instant payment purchases of goods and services excluding fuel transactions. “Reverse interchange rate” means the rate computed by the Bank intended to compensate the acquirer or acquirer IPP of an ATM for the cost of accepting and processing a transaction initiated using an interoperable payment card or an instant payment enabled store of value issued by another card or instant payment participant. This definition extends to the cash portion of cashback with purchase, pure cashback, cash-out and cash-in transactions. “Store of value” means a bank account or e-money wallet provided by a banking institution or a non-bank financial institution payment instrument issuer licensed by the Bank in terms of the Act.
4. Authorisation – Authority for the Bank to issue this Determination is provided in section 45
of the Act.
PART II: STATEMENT OF POLICY
5. Purpose - This Determination provides the interchange rates and off-us ATM withdrawal
fees for interbank card and instant payment transactions in the National Payment System, as determined by the Bank.
6. Scope - This Determination applies to all participants involved in the processing of interbank
card and instant payment transactions performed at various payment channels, inclusive of ATMs, in Namibia.
7. Position of the Bank - It is the Bank’s position that interchange encourages the development
and introduction of interoperable payment systems, ultimately providing end-users with access to a broad range of digital payment services. Given the rapidly evolving digital payments landscape, it is imperative to establish appropriate compensatory measures that support the maintenance of existing and adoption of new payment mechanisms. It is the Bank’s position that the adoption of interoperable Quick Response Codes should be actively

8678 Government Gazette 7 July 2025 5 promoted to enhance financial inclusion, simplify digital payments for consumers, and reduce costs for merchants. In Namibia, ATMs are widely used as a payment channel to access cash by end-users, off-us ATM withdrawal fees should be regulated to ensure fair compensation for issuers or issuers IPP incurring reverse interchange, promote competition in the provision of ATM services, while ensuring that fees imposed on end-users are aligned with the public interest.
8. Application of the Act - Unless expressly stated otherwise, the provisions of the Act, as
well as the related Determinations, Guidelines and Directives, shall apply to card and instant payment participants in the National Payment System.
PART III: IMPLEMENTATION AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
9. The Bank’s Approach to Determine Interchange Rates
9.1 The Bank conducted an interchange costing exercise by collecting data related to
the provision of interbank card payment services by the card participants as well as data from e-money participants inclusive of the instant payment programme functional specification document and technical specification document to determine interchange rates for payment card and instant payment services in the National Payment System. The data was validated, analysed, and used to derive cost-based interchange rates for payment card and instant payment transactions at payment channels inclusive of ATMs.
10. Card Interchange Rates
10.1 Interchange for Retail and Fuel Card Transactions
10.1.1 The following interchange rates are to be implemented for transactions at all
payment channels:
Card Interchange for Retail Transactions Rates Debit card 0.50% Hybrid card 0.75% Credit card 1.55% Card Interchange for Fuel Transactions Rates Debit card 0.50% Hybrid card 0.75% Credit card 0.80%
10.2 Interchange for Cashback Transactions
10.2.1 Interchange for pure cashback or the cash portion for a cashback with
purchase qualifies as reverse interchange as it will be paid by the issuer to the acquirer, while the point-of-sale (POS) purchase portion interchange will be paid by the acquirer to the issuer. The following interchange rates are to be implemented for cashback transactions:
Debit card Credit card Hybrid card
Pure cashback N$1.25
POS purchase 0.50% 1.55% 0.75%
10.3 Reverse Interchange for ATM Financial Transactions

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10.3.1 Financial transactions at ATMs involve the movement of funds. The reverse
interchange rates for ATM financial transactions are as follows:
Successful Transaction Rate
ATM Withdrawal N$4.00 plus N$0.80 per N$100
Unsuccessful Transaction Rate
ATM Withdrawal N$4.80
10.4 Reverse Interchange for ATM Non-Financial Transactions
10.4.1 Non-financial transactions at ATMs do not involve the movement of funds.
The reverse interchange rates for ATM non-financial transactions are as follows:
Non-Financial ATM Transaction Rates
Balance enquiry N$0.60
Invalid PIN N$0.60
Excess PIN tries N$0.60
Negative card N$0.60
Access restricted N$0.60
Expired card N$0.60
Invalid transaction N$0.60
Insufficient funds N$0.60
Withdrawal balance N$0.60
Daily limit exceeded N$0.60
Excess daily limit withdrawal N$0.60
Transaction cancelled N$0.60
Own Financial Institution (Issuer) Errors Rates Host unavailable N$0.60 Invalid PAN N$0.60 Unable to process N$0.60 Denied N$0.60 Invalid PIN block N$0.60 Balance unavailable N$0.60 Slow authorisation N$0.60 Invalid data N$0.60 No reply N$0.60 Other Financial Institution (Acquirer) Errors Rates Invalid PIN block service provider N$0.60 Invalid data N$0.60 Partial dispense N$0.60 ATM fault N$0.60 Slow ATM mode N$0.60 Unable to capture N$0.60 No request N$0.60
10.5 Card participants are prohibited from deviating from the card interchange rates
determined by the Bank under this section.
11. Instant Payment Interchange Rates
11.1 Interchange for Payments at Merchants

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11.1.1 The following interchange rate will be paid by the acquirer IPP to the issuer
IPP for instant payment transactions that are facilitated at merchants:
Interchange for Retail Transactions Rate
Person-to-Business (P2B) / Person-to-Merchant (P2M) 0.40% Interchange for Fuel Transactions Rate Person-to-Business (P2B) / Person-to-Merchant (P2M) 0.40%
11.2 Interchange for Cash-In and Cash-Out Transactions
11.2.1 Interchange for cash-in and cash-out at merchants or agents qualifies as
reverse interchange as it will be paid by the issuer IPP to the acquirer IPP. The interchange rates to be implemented for cash-in and cash-out instant payment transactions at merchants or agents are as follows:
Rates
Cash-in at merchant or agent N$1.25
Cash-out at merchant or agent N$1.25
11.3 Reverse Interchange for ATM Financial Transactions
11.3.1 Financial transactions at ATMs involve the movement of funds. The reverse
interchange rates for ATM financial transactions for all instant payment transactions are as follows:
Successful Transaction Rate
ATM Withdrawal N$4.00 plus N$0.80 per N$100
Unsuccessful Transaction Rate
ATM Withdrawal N$4.80
11.4 Reverse Interchange for ATM Non-Financial Transactions
11.4.1 Non-financial transactions at ATMs do not involve the movement of funds.
The reverse interchange rate for an ATM non-financial transaction for an instant payment transaction is as follows:
Non-Financial ATM Transaction Rate
Balance enquiry N$0.60
11.5 No interchange rate is applicable to person-to-person (P2P), business-to-person
(B2P), business to business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G), government-to￾person (G2P) and request to pay transactions.
11.6 The interchange rates determined under this section will apply to all store of values
notwithstanding the payments channel used.
11.7 Instant payment participants are prohibited from deviating from the instant payment
interchange rates determined by the Bank under this section.
12. Off-Us ATM Withdrawal Fees
12.1 A card participant must not charge their user more than the following fees for using
another participant’s ATMs:

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Card Transactions Fees
Withdrawal at Other Participant’s ATM N$7.20 plus N$13.70 per N$500 with a maximum of N$35 Balance Enquiry at Other Participant’s ATM N$1.60
12.2 An instant payment participant must not charge their user more than the following
fees for using another participant’s ATMs:
Instant Payment Transactions Fees
Withdrawal at Other Participant’s ATM N$4.80 plus N$9.00 per transaction Balance Enquiry at Other Participant’s ATM N$1.60
12.3 Instant payment participants in addition to section 12.2, must offer the first monthly
withdrawal for free for off-us transactions. ATM reverse interchange rate must be applied to the first free monthly withdrawal.
12.4 A card or instant payment participant has the discretion to offer the ATM services for
free or at a lower rate than stipulated above.
12.5 Each card or instant payment participant should include the fees stipulated under
section 12.1, 12.2 and 12.3 in their pricing guides/booklets and on the ATM screen
prior to the withdrawal process is completed by the customer in line with the provisions of the fees and charges as determined by the Bank.
12.6 A card or instant payment participant may not amend the above stipulated off-us
ATM withdrawal fees in their pricing guides to higher fees before the Bank has revised such fees as per the intervals determined in terms of section 14.
12.7 An off-us ATM withdrawal fee will apply to all interoperable domestic card and
instant payment transactions.
13. Additional Requirements and Conditions
13.1 In the event of a successful dispute against a card or instant payment transaction
among participants, the interchange applied to the successfully disputed transaction must be returned to the card or instant payment participant that initially incurred the interchange fee.
13.2 The payment system operator responsible for processing interbank card and/or
instant payments and/or ATM transactions must ensure that the interchange rates specified under sections 10 and 11 are calculated daily and are applied on the same day or by the following business day to affected card participants or instant payment participants.
13.3 The settlement of interchange fee payments to card or instant payment participants
should be done through domestic clearing and settlement systems.
13.4 All the interchange rates provided under sections 10 and 11 shall exclude value￾added tax (VAT), which is to be included during the settlement process specified
under section 13.3.
13.5 An interbank card and instant payment transaction type not specified in this
Determination may not be subjected to interchange rates.

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13.6 Card and instant payment participants are prohibited from discussing, negotiating,
revising, or colluding with regards to the implementation of the interchange rates or off-us ATM withdrawal fees specified under this Determination.
PART IV: OTHER REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
14. Revision Principles and Intervals
14.1 The Bank intends to revise the interchange rates and off-us ATM withdrawal fees at
frequencies to be determined based on the following principles:
14.1.1 Cost to card or instant payment participants for providing payment services.
14.1.2 Market conduct by card or instant payment participants in the pricing of
products and services directly impacted by interchange and off-us ATM withdrawal fees.
14.1.3 The introduction of new participants, payment services, or payment service
providers that may be impacted or impact the effectiveness of the rates.
14.1.4 Consideration by the Bank to introduce new interchange rates for other
segments and industries other than the fuel industry.
14.1.5 The impact of the prevailing interchange rates to card and instant payment
participants, merchants, and user during a specified period.
14.2 Once the Bank has considered the principles above, the revision intervals and scope
of revision will be communicated to card and instant payment participants six (6) months before the new rates are determined by the Bank.
14.3 The Bank may consider additional principles not listed under section 14.1 when
revising the interchange rates and off-us ATM withdrawal fees.
15. Oversight
15.1 The Bank reserves the right to inspect all records, data, or other relevant information
of a card or instant payment participant or its agent or merchant to ensure compliance with this Determination.
16. Administrative Penalties
16.1 A card participant, instant payment participant or its agent that contravenes or
otherwise fails to comply with any provisions of this Determination will be subjected to administrative penalties as provided for under section 40 of the Act.
17. Repeal
17.1 This Determination repeals and replaces the Determination on Card Interchange
and ATM Surcharging (PSD-11), published under General Notice No.181, in the Government Gazette No. 7798 issued on 28 April 2022.
18. General
18.1 This Determination is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and/or amended
from time to time.

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19. Effective Date
19.1 This Determination becomes effective on the date of publication in the Gazette.
However, the interchange rates stipulated herein must be implemented by 1 August 2025 by card and instant payment participants, including the payment system operator(s) responsible for calculating interchange.
20. Enquiries
20.1 All enquiries related to this Determination shall be directed to:
THE DIRECTOR
NATIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEM AND
FINANCIAL SURVEILLANCE DEPARTMENT
BANK OF NAMIBIA
P.O. BOX 2882, WINDHOEK
NAMIBIA

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