PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE, FIRST SERIES, NO. 018, OF JANUARY 28, 2026
NOTICE NO. 01/2026
SUBJECT: PAYMENT SYSTEM
- Non-Bank Acquirer and Sub-Acquirer
Given the need to adapt rules and procedures for the operation of Non-Bank Acquirers and Sub-Acquirers, aiming to strengthen and provide adequate mechanisms to facilitate access to financial products and services for the population nationwide and contribute to increasing financial inclusion levels;
Under the provisions of paragraph a) of paragraph 1 of Article 6.º of Law No. 40/20, of December 16, the Payment System Law of Angola, combined with Articles 21.º and 98.º of Law No. 24/21, of October 18, the Bank of Angola Law.
I DETERMINE:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.º
(Object)
This Notice establishes the rules applicable to entities exercising the activities of Non-Bank Acquirer and Sub-Acquirer.
Article 2.º
(Scope)
This Notice applies to entities exercising activities of Non-Bank Acquirer and Sub-Acquirer, authorized under the Payment System Law of Angola and this Notice.
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Article 3.º
(Definitions)
For the purposes of this Notice, the following are understood:
a) Accepting Entity (Aceitante) – entity that accepts payment for goods and/or services with a payment card and maintains a contract with an acquirer to perform this service;
b) Non-Bank Acquirer – Payment Service Provider that acquires credits from merchants accepting credit and debit cards, to which merchants transmit transaction data;
c) Payment Arrangement – a single set of rules, practices, standards or guidelines, oriented towards the execution of payment operations; distinct from payment systems but serving as their operational basis and including any decision-making body, organization or entity responsible for its operation;
d) Automated Teller Machine (ATM/CA) – electromechanical equipment that allows holders of payment cards with magnetic stripe and/or chip to access services provided for these cards, namely withdrawing cash from accounts, checking account balances and statements, and making fund transfers, among other services;
e) Independent ATM (CA Independente) – ATM that is not owned by a Banking Financial Institution;
f) Payment Card – payment instrument, presented in the form of a plastic card or other payment device or code, provided by an issuing Financial Institution (the issuer), to enable its user to carry out financial transactions, namely payments and/or cash withdrawals, at terminals where it is accepted;
g) Multicaixa Card – card issued in accordance with the rules of the Multicaixa Payment Arrangement and accepted at all terminals of the Multicaixa system;
h) Merchant – any legal entity meeting the conditions to be a Card Accepting Entity;
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i) Float Account – support account for the payment acquisition service, domiciled at a Banking Financial Institution, for fund movements, resulting from the calculation of transactions carried out on Automatic Payment Terminals with the accounting period open at the time of interbank settlement;
j) Payment Service Provider – Financial Institution or legally authorized entity by the Bank of Angola, under the Payment System Law of Angola, to provide payment services;
k) Technical Service Providers – entities that support the provision of payment services without ever holding the funds to be transferred, including processing and data storage, trust and privacy protection services, data and entity authentication, provision of information and communication technology networks, and provision and maintenance of terminals and devices used for payment services, with the exception of payment initiation services and account information services;
l) Multicaixa Network – national and universal network of terminals providing cash withdrawal, payment and/or related services;
m) Sub-Acquirer – entity designed to intermediate payment operations between the merchant and the acquirer;
n) Multicaixa System (MCX) – payment system that processes operations carried out with valid cards at service points of the Multicaixa network, with deferred time settlement of the multilateral compensation balance of these operations; and,
o) Automatic Payment Terminal (APT/TPA) – electromechanical equipment or software application that allows authorized users, cardholders it can validate, to make payments at sales locations or service providers, also enabling other services associated with the card used.
CHAPTER II
NON-BANK ACQUIRERS
Article 4.º
(Non-Bank Acquirer)
Under this Notice, the Non-Bank Acquirer may be an Automatic Payment Terminal (APT/TPA) or Automated Teller Machine (ATM/CA).
Article 5.º
(Eligible Institutions)
Only payment service societies authorized by the Bank of Angola, under the Payment System Law of Angola, may exercise the activities of Non-Bank Acquirer for APT and ATM.
Article 6.º
(Participation in the Payment Arrangement)
Under this Notice, the Non-Bank Acquirer must:
a) Participate in the Multicaixa Payment Arrangement;
b) Implement rules regarding the Payment Arrangement of which it is a member, to mitigate risks associated with its activity and consumer protection; and,
c) Be certified by the entity responsible for the Payment Arrangement.
Article 7.º
(Oversight and Supervision)
The Non-Bank Acquirer must create technical and operational conditions so that Oversight and Supervision have timely access to information related to operations performed and all supporting elements of the Sub-Acquirer's activity.
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Article 8.º
(Risk Management)
- Under this Notice, the Non-Bank Acquirer must:
a) Implement policies including minimum standards established in the Multicaixa Payment Arrangement to mitigate risk in the Payment System;
b) Maintain adequate risk controls and monitor the Accepting Entity's activity to ensure compliance with rules, thereby avoiding undue harm to its activity and the end consumer; and,
c) Perform continuous control and supervision of the Sub-Acquirer to ensure compliance with requirements imposed for exercising its activity, where applicable.
- Whenever the Non-Bank Acquirer becomes aware of any fraud or forgery committed by a specific Accepting Entity in transactions carried out through payment cards, it must immediately:
a) Terminate the contract with the relevant Accepting Entity; and,
b) Communicate the fraud and identification of the relevant Accepting Entity, in the manner and timeframe defined in specific regulation.
- For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, it is prohibited for the Non-Bank Acquirer to enter into a contract with an Accepting Entity that has recorded an incident.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must not acquire payment operations from accepting entities that are not authorized to exercise a commercial activity.
Article 9.º
(Due Diligence)
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must conduct due diligence on the Accepting Entity's history, including the existence of bounced checks for lack of funds, credit status, personal and corporate financial statements, and tax declarations, to ascertain the existence of fraud.
- In identifying counterparties, the Non-Bank Acquirer must adopt the principles defined in regulation on combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, consistent with fraud prevention objectives.
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Article 10.º
(Information Confidentiality)
- Non-Bank Acquirers must demonstrate information compliance with all applicable guarantees and standards, ensuring security for Accepting Entities, Sub-Acquirers and other third parties regarding the confidentiality of payment card data.
- Under this article, they must also comply with regulatory requirements, information confidentiality, report production, creation and management of profiles, periodic assessment and reporting of additional information, and must likewise elaborate and apply appropriate policies, procedures and processes for risk management and mitigation.
SECTION I
Non-Bank Acquirer of APT
Article 11.º
(Permitted Activities)
- The Non-Bank Acquirer of APT is permitted to carry out the following activities:
a) Contracting with the Accepting Entity regarding payment card acceptance conditions;
b) Acquisition of APT from Technical Service Providers;
c) Recruitment and management of Accepting Entities;
d) Provision, maintenance and installation of physical or virtual APT;
e) Acquisition of payment operations;
f) Cash dispensation;
g) Management of funds corresponding to daily transactions carried out with the cards it represents and their respective credit in Accepting Entities' bank accounts;
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h) Provision of intermediary services between Accepting Entities and issuers through service provision, namely:
i. Payment processing;
ii. Interbank settlement; and,
iii. Dispute management.
i) Support to Accepting Entities, namely customer service and training; and,
j) Other activities authorized by the Bank of Angola.
2. The Non-Bank Acquirer must be the creditor for transactions carried out with payment cards it represents before the Payment Arrangement.
Article 12.º
(Specific Conditions of the Acceptance Contract)
- The relationship between the Non-Bank Acquirer and Accepting Entities must be governed by a written contract.
- The acceptance contract must include the General Terms of Use, which are more stable, and an annex containing conditions subject to frequent modification.
- The contract must be drafted in Portuguese, easily understood and have a graphical presentation allowing reading by someone with average visual acuity.
- Clauses defining charges or interest rates merely by reference to the existing price list at counters or other locations/supports are prohibited.
- The price list must be presented in national currency.
- The contract must establish:
a) That the Accepting Entity may directly file justified complaints to the Bank of Angola for non-compliance with applicable legislation and regulation by the Non-Bank Acquirer;
b) The service levels to which the acquirer is obligated regarding repair and/or replacement of the APT; and,
c) The situations in which the parties may terminate the contract and its effects.
- An acceptance contract for one card brand must not prevent the acceptance of cards from another brand.
- Without prejudice to other prevailing norms, all rights and obligations of the contracting parties must be established in the contract with the Accepting Entity through general contractual clauses, including:
a) Accepting Entities must not refuse card payments;
b) Obligations regarding the finalization of payment to the Accepting Entity are the responsibility of the Non-Bank Acquirer;
c) The Accepting Entity must not be held liable for fraudulent transactions, provided it has complied with the card acceptance rules timely communicated by the Non-Bank Acquirer;
d) If applicable, the Accepting Entity is obliged to confirm cardholder identification whenever the payment exceeds a determined amount and under terms defined by the Payment Arrangement;
e) Credit for payment acquisition operations by the Accepting Entity must be made into a bank account designated for this purpose;
f) In case of dispute regarding an electronic operation, the burden of proof lies with the Non-Bank Acquirer, obliging the Accepting Entity to provide its best cooperation, namely by providing requested information and copies of documents related to the operation in question;
g) The Non-Bank Acquirer may not alter contractual conditions without notifying the Accepting Entity, with a minimum advance notice of 45 (forty-five) days, leaving the latter with the right to terminate the contract due to disagreement with the introduced changes;
h) The use of an Accepting Entity's terminal after the effective date of contractual changes, informed according to the preceding clause, constitutes a presumption of acceptance of those changes; and,
i) Responsibilities incumbent on each contracting party related to deficient transmission, non-reception or deficient reception by the Non-Bank Acquirer or Multicaixa System operator must be indicated.
- Contractual acceptance conditions must provide complete, clear and updated information on rules for correct and secure card acceptance and terminal use, including information on:
a) Operations that may be performed;
b) Identification of cards and respective holders;
c) Operational and security principles; and,
d) Charges resulting from possession and/or use of APT.
- Without prejudice to the preceding paragraphs, the acceptance contract must be cancelled if the APT remains inactive for an uninterrupted period equal to or greater than 6 (six) months.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must inform the Bank of Angola whenever it terminates a contract with an Accepting Entity.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer is obligated to submit draft contracts it intends to conclude with Accepting Entities to the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Angola.
- Within the scope of this article, the Non-Bank Acquirer must observe complementary rules established in the Directive on APT Acceptance Contract.
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Article 13.º
(Accepting Entity Deposit Account)
- Accepting Entity deposit accounts must be domiciled at a Banking Financial Institution.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must not condition the provision of payment acquisition services to the deposit account being domiciled at a specific Banking Financial Institution.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must maintain adequate controls to ensure the transfer of bank accounts where funds will be deposited.
Article 14.º
(Interbank Settlement)
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must maintain commercial agreements with a Banking Financial Institution to represent it in interbank settlement.
- A Banking Financial Institution must not refuse representation of a Non-Bank Acquirer in interbank settlement.
- The draft contract for representation for interbank settlement between the Banking Financial Institution and the Non-Bank Acquirer must be approved by the Bank of Angola.
- The settlement agent must ensure settlement, regardless of any contractual liability limits established with the Non-Bank Acquirer.
- The Non-Bank Acquirer must hold a float account with the Banking Financial Institution representing it in interbank settlement, which must remain funded with sufficient funds to enable finalization of payment operations carried out at Accepting Entities.
SECTION II
NON-BANK ACQUIRER OF ATM
Article 15.º
(Permitted Activities)
The Independent ATM Service Provider is permitted to carry out the following activities:
a) Acquisition of certified brand/model Terminals from the Network Management Entity;
b) Installation, management and maintenance of ATMs.
c) Banknote loading;
d) Acquisition of payment operations, including card management operations;
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e) Cash dispensation; and,
f) Complaint management.
Article 16.º
(ATM Cash Refilling)
- Funds for refilling Independent ATMs may belong to the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM or to the Banking Financial Institution representing it in interbank settlement.
- For the purposes of the preceding paragraph, ownership of funds for Independent ATM refilling must be previously agreed between the Banking Financial Institution and the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM.
- By virtue of paragraph d) of paragraph 1 of Article 24.º of Law No. 24/21 of October 18, the Bank of Angola does not finance Independent ATM refilling.
- Without prejudice to Article 2.º of Instruction No. 04/25, of December 02, on Deposit and Withdrawal Operations of Banknotes and Metal Coins of the Kwanza at the Bank of Angola,
cash withdrawal may be carried out by the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM under the following terms:
a) At the Bank of Angola's Strongrooms upon authorization by the Banking Financial Institution representing it in interbank settlement, in accordance with operational rules on Kwanza Banknote Deposit and Withdrawal Operations; or
b) At the agencies of the Banking Financial Institution representing it in interbank settlement, under terms agreed between the parties.
- The draft contract for cash supply concluded between the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM and the Banking Financial Institution representing it in interbank settlement must be approved by the Bank of Angola.
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Article 17.º
(Cash Withdrawal)
- Rules applicable to cash withdrawal by the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM are defined in specific regulation.
- Without prejudice to the preceding paragraph, Banking Financial Institutions may not charge commissions to the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM when withdrawing cash values.
Article 18.º
(Interbank Settlement)
Provisions in paragraphs 1 to 4 of Article 14.º apply to the Non-Bank Acquirer of ATM.
CHAPTER III
SPECIFIC RULES OF THE SUB-ACQUIRER
Article 19.º
(Exercise of Activity)
- The Sub-Acquirer activity may be exercised by Banking or Payment Agents, under the Notice on Expansion of Financial Services.
- Sub-Acquirers provide services on behalf of a Financial Institution, under terms previously agreed between the parties, with the Sub-Acquirer being responsible for all acts for which it has been contracted.
- The contracting Institution must guarantee the integrity, reliability, security and confidentiality of transactions carried out through the contractor, as well as compliance with prevailing legislation.
Article 20.º
(Authorized Activities)
Upon conclusion of a contract, the Sub-Acquirer may, in the name of the contracting institution, carry out the following activities:
a) Recruitment of Accepting Entities;
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b) Reception and forwarding of acceptance contract proposals received on behalf of the contracting Institution;
c) Maintenance and installation of physical APT;
d) Support to Accepting Entities, namely complaint handling and training.
Article 21.º
(Complaints)
Handling Accepting Entities and processing complaints must comply with regulation on consumer protection of financial products and services in Angola.
CHAPTER IV
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 22.º
(Revocation)
Notice No. 15/22, of August 25, on Non-Bank Acquirer and Sub-Acquirer is revoked.
Article 23.º
(Sanctions)
Non-compliance with the mandatory rules established in this Notice constitutes an infraction punishable under Law No. 40/20, of December 16, the Payment System Law of Angola and Law No. 14/21, of May 19, the General Regime Law of Financial Institutions.
Article 24.º
(Doubts and Omissions)
Doubts and omissions resulting from the interpretation and application of this Notice are resolved by the Bank of Angola.
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Article 25.º
(Entry into Force)
This Notice enters into force on the date of its publication.
PUBLISH IT.
Luanda, January 23, 2026.
THE GOVERNOR
MANUEL ANTÓNIO TIAGO DIAS