RegAlert

Burundi: lending & credit regulation — 2026-08

Regulated

Burundi: Lending regulated by BRB under Law 1/17; no specific fintech license

Frozen snapshot — the guide as it stood at the end of 2026-08. See the live guide for the current state.

Lending activities are strictly regulated by the central bank under Law 1/17. Only licensed credit institutions may grant loans. Unlicensed entities offering consumer credit or P2P lending are prohibited. Microfinance is a distinct licensed category with specific data reporting obligations to the BRB's Information Exchange Centre.

Which licence do you need?

Your activityRequirementCapitalTimelineAuthority
Consumer lendingLicenceCredit Institution License[1]

Requires full banking license under Law 1/17

——Banque de la Republique du Burundi
SME / commercial lendingLicenceCredit Institution License[2]

Subject to prudential risk segmentation limits

——Banque de la Republique du Burundi
MicrofinanceLicenceMicrofinance Institution License[3]

Must report data to BRB Information Exchange Centre

——Banque de la Republique du Burundi
Buy-now-pay-laterLicenceCredit Institution License[4]

Credit-lease contracts subject to insurance rules

——Banque de la Republique du Burundi
P2P lending platformProhibited[1]

Unlicensed lending is prohibited under banking law

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Credit bureau / scoringUncertain[3]verify with regulator

Data sharing mandated for licensed institutions

———
Debt collectionUncertain[1]verify with regulator

Default reporting mandatory for credit institutions

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New — what changed recently

  • 2025-06-01Regulation No. 01/2025 — Mandated insurance obligations and termination conditions for credit-lease contracts.[4]
  • 2024-10-01Circular No. 008/RC/2024 — Defined conditions for granting foreign currency loans to residents and non-residents.[5]
  • 2024-10-01Circular No. 13/M/18 — Regulated credit data transmission and consultation within the BRB Information Exchange Centre.[3]

Market-entry checklist

  1. 1Obtain BRB Credit LicenseApply for a credit institution license under Law 1/17 to legally grant loans.
  2. 2Establish Risk Management FrameworkImplement risk identification and monitoring systems per Circular 23/2018.
  3. 3Set Up Credit Data ReportingConnect to the BRB Information Exchange Centre for borrower debt history reporting.
  4. 4Implement Portfolio ClassificationClassify portfolios into Categories A, B, and C per Circular 13/99.

Sources

  1. Circular No. 17/2018 on the Credit Ban for Defaulting Clients within the Banking Sector Issued Pursuant to Law No. 1/17 of August 22, 2017 Governing Banking Activities · 2024-09-01
  2. On the Division of Credit Risks for Credit Institutions · 2024-09-01
  3. Circular No. 13/M/18 on the Feeding and Consultation of the Information Exchange Centre · 2024-10-01
  4. Regulation No. 01/2025 on Insurance Obligations, Termination Conditions and Exercise of the Purchase Option in Credit-Lease Contracts · 2025-06-01
  5. On the Required Conditions for Granting Foreign Currency Loans and/or Guarantees Issued Under the December 28, 2023 Foreign Exchange Regulations · 2024-10-01