Overview
- Tanzania is advancing its digital economy by publishing Government Notice No. 158C of 2026, which mandates electronic payment channels across key commercial sectors.
- The measure binds both payers and recipients, requiring digital settlement for specified transactions through mobile money, bank transfers, payment cards or point of sale (POS) devices.
- Affected operators have a six-month transitional window until 31 December 2026 to implement compliant payment infrastructure and update commercial contracts.
- The mandate creates a durable digital audit trail, boosting transparency, aiding anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and helping the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) monitor turnover.
On 30 June 2026, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania published Government Notice No. 158C of 2026 – the Electronic Transactions (Mandatory Electronic Payments for Specified Transactions) Order, 2026 (Order), which came into force on 1 July 2026. The Order marks a significant step in the country’s ongoing digital transformation agenda by requiring payments for specified categories of transactions to be made and received through electronic means. The measure is intended to promote the use of digital payment systems, improve transparency in commercial transactions, strengthen financial inclusion and reduce reliance on cash-based payments across key sectors of the economy.
Scope and key definition
Any person who makes or receives payment in respect of a transaction listed in the Schedule must do so through electronic means. The obligation therefore binds both sides of the transaction, not merely the recipient.
Electronic means is defined broadly as any method, system or channel of making or receiving payment through electronic or digital technology, and expressly includes mobile money, bank transfer, electronic funds transfer (EFT), payment card, electronic wallet, point of sale (POS) device, internet or mobile banking and Government electronic payment systems.
Specified transactions
Transitional provisions
A person who was receiving payments in respect of a specified transaction immediately before commencement has six months, that is, until 31 December 2026, to put electronic payment means in place. The Order further provides that it does not affect arrangements or contracts relating to any transaction made before it came into force.
A question arises regarding contracts signed before 1 July 2026 that are still being paid off – a lease, for example, or a vehicle bought on instalments. The Order says it does not affect contracts made before it came into force. However, the duty to pay electronically attaches to each payment, not to the contract. It is therefore not clear whether rent falling due in, say, September 2026 under a lease signed in 2024 may still be paid in cash. The Order does not answer this, and parties to long-running contracts should seek advice rather than assume they are exempt.
Practical consequences
The most immediate practical effect of the Order is that it creates a durable record of transactions that were previously settled in cash and left no trail. Every payment falling within the Schedule will now sit on a bank statement, a mobile money ledger or a POS reconciliation, and will be attributable to an identifiable payer and recipient.
This has obvious revenue implications. Turnover in the sectors listed – hospitality, retail, motor vehicle and property dealing, school fees and crop purchases through cooperative unions and AMCOS – becomes far easier for the Tanzania Revenue Authority to observe and to reconcile against returns. Businesses that have historically under-reported cash receipts should expect the gap between declared and actual turnover to narrow quickly, and should take advice before that divergence becomes visible rather than after. Correspondingly, taxpayers who have been unable to substantiate deductible expenditure paid in cash may find it easier to support their claims.
Beyond tax, the electronic trail strengthens evidence in commercial disputes. Payment of a deposit, a rent instalment or the purchase price of a vehicle will ordinarily be provable from the payment record rather than from a receipt that may be lost or disputed, which should reduce a familiar category of litigation over whether payment was in fact made. The same trail assists anti-money laundering compliance and makes it materially harder to move large sums through property and vehicle sales without leaving a record.
Next steps
Businesses operating in the affected sectors should map their current receipting arrangements against the Schedule and identify where cash is still accepted. Where the six-month window applies, onboarding with banks, mobile money operators or payment service providers should begin now rather than in December. Institutions should also review standard-form contracts, tenancy agreements, sale agreements and fee structures to ensure payment clauses do not contemplate cash settlement in respect of a specified transaction, and should consider the treatment of deposits, part-payments and refunds under existing arrangements.
The Order does not set out any penalty for non-compliance. It also uses terms such as ‘shopping malls’, ‘tourism-related services’ and ‘renting of a building’, that it does not define, leaving some uncertainty about which transactions are actually caught. Guidance or implementing regulations from the Government would help, and may follow in due course.
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Read the original publication at Bowmans
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