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Malawi: lending & credit regulation

Partially regulated

Malawi lending: RBM regulates banks/MFIs; unregulated for non-deposit lenders

Lead regulator
Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM)
Also involved
Registrar of Companies (incorporation) · Malawi Revenue Authority (tax)
Core law
Financial Services Act 2010; Microfinance Act 2010
Entry capital
—
Approval timeline
—
Customer assets
No specific segregation rules for non-deposit lenders
Data protection
Data Protection Act 2023 · Data Protection Commission
Sandbox
No

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) strictly regulates deposit-taking banks and licensed Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) under the Financial Services Act 2010 and Microfinance Act 2010. Non-deposit-taking consumer and SME lenders operate in a regulatory gap with no specific licensing regime, though they must comply with general commercial laws. The regulatory focus is on prudential standards for regulated entities.

Which licence do you need?

Your activityRequirementCapitalTimelineAuthority
Consumer lendingUncertainverify with regulator

No specific licence for non-deposit consumer lenders

———
SME / commercial lendingUncertainverify with regulator

No specific licence for non-deposit SME lenders

———
MicrofinanceLicenceMicrofinance Agency Licence[1][2]

Required for deposit-taking or regulated microcredit services

——Registrar of Financial Institutions (RBM)
Buy-now-pay-laterUncertainverify with regulator

No specific BNPL regime identified

———
P2P lending platformUncertainverify with regulator

No specific P2P lending regime identified

———
Credit bureau / scoringUncertainverify with regulator

No specific credit bureau licensing identified

———
Debt collectionUncertainverify with regulator

No specific debt collection licensing identified

———

New — what changed recently

  • 2024-01-01Credit Risk Guidelines 2024 — Mandated exclusive use of Standardized Approach for credit risk measurement for banks.[3]
  • 2018-01-01Microcredit Agency Directive 2018 — Established comprehensive registration and operating standards for microcredit agencies.[2]

Market-entry checklist

  1. 1Register with Registrar of CompaniesIncorporate a local entity to conduct business legally.
  2. 2Consult RBM on LicensingConfirm if your model triggers MFI or banking regulation.
  3. 3Comply with Data Protection ActRegister with Data Protection Commission for customer data.
  4. 4Register with Malawi Revenue AuthorityObtain TIN and comply with tax obligations for lending income.

Sources

  1. Microfinance Act 2010 · 2010-07-29
  2. Microcredit Agency Directive 2018 · 2018-06-29
  3. Credit Risk Guidelines 2024
This guide is compiled automatically from 3 primary-source documents published by Malawi's regulators, reviewed by RegAlert, and refreshed monthly (last updated 2026-07-12). It is not legal advice — always confirm requirements with the regulator or local counsel before acting.