CLYDE & CO UPDATER - BANK OF TANZANIA: TIME EXTENSION FOR REGISTRATION AND LICENSING OF MICROFINANCE SERVICE PROVIDERS

The Bank of Tanzania recently issued a public notice extending the statutory time limit for Microfinance Service Providers to register and submit licence applications. In this article, we provide an overview of the public notice and summarise the licence application procedures for Non-Deposit Taking Microfinance Service Providers and Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies.

Background

Prior to the public notice (the Notice) being issued, Microfinance Service Providers (MSPs) were required to apply for registration or obtain a licence from the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) or any other regulatory body authorised by the BOT by 31 October 2020. However, the BOT has now extended the deadline to 30 April 2021 in order to provide MSPs additional time to submit applications that are compliant with the requirements provided under the law.

Microfinance tiers and application procedures

The Notice addresses the following MSPs:

• Tier 2 MSPs which relate to Non-Deposit Taking Microfinance Service Providers (NDTs)
• Tier 3 MSPs which relate to Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS)
• Tier 4 MSPs which relate to Community Microfinance Groups (CMGs)

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