Lebanon Licenses Digital Wallets Under New BDL Circular

Lebanon's central bank has put its digital wallet sector on a formal regulatory footing for the first time. Banque du Liban issued Basic Circular No. 1 of 2026 in January, setting out licensing categories, fees and operating rules for electronic payment service providers, known as EPSPs. The circular makes clear that the central bank wants the wallet and payments sector treated as part of the regulated financial system, not as an informal workaround. It arrives after more than six years of acute strain on Lebanese banks, during which digital wallets quietly took on a much larger share of everyday transactions and incoming remittances. What the new licensing framework covers According to The Fintech Times , the circular defines distinct licence categories for different types of payment activity, sets fee structures, and lays down operating conditions providers must meet to keep their authorisation. Reported details suggest the framework covers consumer wallets, merchant payment services and providers handling cross-border transfers. By creating tiered licences, the regulator can hold larger operators to stricter capital and reporting standards while leaving room for smaller, niche players. That distinction matters in a market where some wallets have scaled into millions of transactions and others remain focused on specific corridors or customer segments. The wallets that grew during the crisis Two providers stand out under the new regime. MyMonty , a Lebanese fintech that offers digital wallet and card services, is reported to have expanded its remittance reach during the crisis years. PinPay , one of Lebanon's earliest mobile payment platforms, has long handled bill payments, transfers and merchant flows for local users. Both companies are reported to be among the operators now formally licensed under the new circular. Other smaller wallets have also moved through the process, although BDL has not published a public list of all licensed EPSPs at the time of writing.