Mandatory Electronic Payments Tanzania 2026: What GN 158C Requires of Your Business

The Order binds both the person who pays and the person who receives. It lists mobile money, bank transfer, payment cards, e-wallets, POS devices, internet or mobile banking and the Government electronic payment system as accepted channels. It states no penalty and names no enforcing authority, so the practical risk sits with licensing, asset-transfer approvals and tax receipting.

What the law says: GN 158C and section 13(2) of Cap. 442

The instrument is the Electronic Transactions (Mandatory Electronic Payments for Specified Transactions) Order, 2026, published as Government Notice No. 158C of 30 June 2026. It was signed on 30 June 2026 by the Minister for Finance, Khamis Mussa Omar. Paragraph 1 says it comes into operation on 1 July 2026. The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) hosts the gazetted text on its website.

The Order is made under section 13(2) of the Electronic Transactions Act, Cap. 442. That subsection is new. It was added by section 6 of the Finance Act, 2026 (Act No. 2 of 2026), assented to on 30 June 2026 and in force from 1 July 2026. The Finance Act redesignated the existing contents of section 13 as subsection (1) and added two subsections:

• Section 13(2): the Minister responsible for finance may, by order published in the Gazette, prescribe payments which shall be made through electronic means.
• Section 13(3): the relevant authority shall use proof of electronic payment as a mandatory requirement for approving applications to transfer assets, including land, buildings and motor vehicles.

Paragraph 2(1) of the Order then sets the core rule. A person who makes or receives payment for a transaction in the Schedule shall make or receive it through an electronic means. Paragraph 3 gives existing businesses six months to put electronic payment means in place. It also says the Order does not affect arrangements or contracts made before it came into force.

The short version: since 1 July 2026, cash is no longer a lawful way to settle the listed payments, subject to the six-month transition for businesses that were already trading.

Which transactions must be paid electronically?

The Schedule is headed "Transactions to be made through electronic payment means". It has nine items. The table follows the gazetted wording closely. Note two details that press summaries often miss: item 1 covers online taxi services, not every taxi, and item 2 names the Saba Saba and Nane Nane trade fairs.

Anything outside the Schedule is not caught by this Order. A hardware shop on a high street, for example, is outside it unless it trades inside a mall. Other laws may still require receipts or bank payments for that business.

What counts as electronic payment under the Order?

Paragraph 2(2) defines "electronic means" as a method, system or channel of making or receiving payment through electronic or digital technology. The definition then lists what it includes:

• mobile money, including merchant till or lipa numbers on mobile network operators' wallets;
• bank transfer and electronic funds transfer;
• payment cards;
• electronic wallets;
• point of sale (POS) devices;
• internet or mobile banking;
• the Government electronic payment system.

The list is open ("includes"), so other digital channels can qualify. Cash deposited by a customer at a bank counter into the business account is a harder case. The Order does not deal with it, and you should not assume it counts. A cheque is also not named.

For a business, the practical test is simple. Can you show, from a bank or wallet statement, that the money moved electronically from the payer to you? If yes, you are likely inside the definition. If the trail starts with notes in a drawer, you are not.

Who is affected by the mandatory electronic payments Order?

The Order reaches anyone who pays or receives a scheduled payment. In practice the businesses that need to act first are these:

• Hotels, lodges, restaurants and cafes, including bars and cafes inside hotels. See our guide to hotel and accommodation licensing.
• Filling stations, which often run on cash at the pump. Our fuel station licensing guide covers the EWURA side.
• Schools, colleges and universities, from pre-primary level upwards, public and private.
• Transport operators: long-distance buses, ferries, online taxi drivers, airlines, railways and parking operators.
• Tour operators and tourism service providers, including those paid by foreign guests on arrival.
• Landlords, property sellers and buyers, and the agents who collect rent or deposits for them.
• Car dealers and anyone selling a vehicle, including private sales.
• Cooperative unions, AMCOS and input dealers paying farmers for strategic crops or selling inputs and pesticides.
• Tenants of shopping malls, gyms, cinemas, event venues and sports arenas, and exhibitors at international trade fairs.

New businesses that open after 1 July 2026 get no transition. Paragraph 3 protects only a person who was already receiving such payments immediately before commencement.

Does the Order apply to customers as well as businesses?

Yes. Paragraph 2(1) applies to "a person who makes or receives payment". A parent paying school fees, a guest settling a hotel bill and a buyer paying for a plot are all bound. The six-month transition in paragraph 3, however, is written for the person who was receiving payments. It gives that person time to put in place electronic payment means.

This matters for landlords and car sellers. Section 13(3) of Cap. 442 makes proof of electronic payment a mandatory requirement for approving applications to transfer land, buildings and motor vehicles. A buyer who pays cash may therefore find that the transfer cannot be approved. Both sides should insist on a bank or wallet trail from the first deposit.

When does the six-month compliance window end?

Paragraph 3 says an existing payee shall put electronic payment means in place "within six months". It does not print an end date. The Order came into operation on 1 July 2026. On our count, six months from that date runs to 31 December 2026. EY's tax alert of 14 August 2026 gives the same date. LEX Africa's note of 3 August 2026 says the period ends around 1 January 2027.

Plan for 31 December 2026 as the last day. Systems should be tested and staff trained well before the Christmas and New Year peak, which is the busiest season for hotels, transport and tourism.

What are the penalties for accepting cash after the deadline?

The Order itself contains no offence or penalty paragraph. Part III of the Finance Act, 2026, which added section 13(2) and (3), creates no offence either. The offences we found in the 2022 revised edition of Cap. 442 deal with unsolicited communications (section 32) and unlicensed cryptographic services (section 36). Neither is aimed at cash payments.

That does not mean cash is risk-free. There are three practical consequences to weigh:

• Asset transfers. Under section 13(3), the relevant authority must see proof of electronic payment before approving a transfer of land, buildings or motor vehicles.
• Licence renewal. Daily News reported on 5 August 2026 that operators without digital payment facilities would not be able to renew licences on expiry until they comply. We have not found that rule in the Order or in Part III of the Finance Act, 2026. Treat it as reported, not confirmed. Our licence renewal guide explains the current process.
• Other laws. An authority may rely on its own statute, licence conditions or tax rules. A cash-heavy business also draws attention in a TRA audit.

If an authority threatens prosecution, seizure or licence refusal on the basis of the Order, take the letter to an advocate before you respond. The legal basis for any sanction should be identified in writing.

Who enforces the electronic payments Order?

The Order names no enforcing or monitoring authority. The power to make it sits with the Minister responsible for finance. The Act's general definition of "Minister" refers to the Minister responsible for information and communication technology, but section 13(2) names the finance Minister expressly.

In practice, compliance will surface at the points where businesses already deal with government: land and vehicle transfer offices, licensing authorities, TRA and sector regulators. Assume each of them may ask how you collect payment. A senior official at the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Draftsman told Daily News that digital payments make transactions easier to track and help close loopholes for money laundering and tax evasion.

Does the Order apply in Zanzibar?

This is the open question. Section 2 of Cap. 442 says that, save for Part III, the Act applies to Mainland Tanzania as well as Tanzania Zanzibar. In the 2022 revised edition, sections 13 to 17 made up Part III and were shown as repealed. The Finance Act, 2026 then amended "section 13" by redesignating its contents as subsection (1). That tells us a section 13 was back in the Act by 2026, but we have not located the amendment that restored it or the Part it now sits in.

If the current section 13 still sits in Part III, the Zanzibar exclusion in section 2 may cover it. The Order itself is silent on territorial reach. Several scheduled items, such as tourism, hotels and land, are also non-Union matters in Zanzibar. Until this is clarified, treat Zanzibar application as unconfirmed.

Groups trading on both sides should read Union and non-Union taxes and tourism setup in Zanzibar and the Mainland.

How does this fit with EFD and VFD receipts?

The Order deals with how money moves. It does not change how sales are receipted for tax. A hotel that takes a card payment must still issue a fiscal receipt from its electronic fiscal device (EFD) or virtual fiscal device (VFD) where the tax rules require one. A mobile money confirmation SMS is not a fiscal receipt.

The two records should match. Every electronic payment should tie to an EFD or VFD receipt for the same amount, on the same day. A mismatch between wallet statements and fiscal receipts is the first thing an auditor will look for. See EFD receipt rules and who needs an EFD machine.

Some POS and till providers offer integration with fiscal devices, so that one sale triggers both the payment and the receipt. Ask your bank or provider whether its solution is approved for use with TRA's systems before you buy.

Worked example: a hotel and a fuel station move to till numbers and POS

The figures below are the business's own prices, used to show what must be paid electronically and receipted. They are illustrations, not market rates. Bank and mobile money charges are commercial tariffs that vary by provider, so they are left out.

A 20-room hotel in Arusha

For example, a guest stays two nights at TZS 150,000 a night and spends TZS 70,000 in the hotel restaurant. The bill is TZS 370,000, with prices quoted VAT-inclusive at the Mainland rate of 18%.

Before the Order, the guest might have paid the restaurant part in cash. From the end of the transition, every shilling of the TZS 370,000 should arrive by card, till or transfer. A foreign guest who arrives with dollars in cash is the difficult case. The hotel should offer card payment or a bank transfer link, and agree the approach in its booking terms.

A filling station on a trunk road

For example, a minibus driver buys 40 litres of diesel at an illustrative TZS 3,000 per litre, a sale of TZS 120,000. The attendant shows the station's merchant till number on a sign at the pump. The driver pays from a mobile wallet and shows the confirmation. The attendant issues the pump receipt for TZS 120,000.

On a day of 300 such sales, the station would see TZS 36,000,000 flow through its till and POS accounts instead of the cash office. The cash-in-transit risk falls, but reconciliation work moves to the back office. The station needs to match till reports to pump readings every shift.

What practical setup does a business need?

Most businesses will combine more than one channel, so that a customer without one option can use another. The usual building blocks are:

• Merchant till or lipa number from one or more mobile network operators, registered in the business's own name. See our guide to mobile money agents and merchants.
• Bank POS terminal for cards, linked to the business's corporate account.
• Bank transfer and control-number billing for larger amounts such as school fees, rent and vehicle sales.
• EFD or VFD integration, so each payment ties to a fiscal receipt.
• Signage at every till, pump, reception desk and ticket window, showing the till numbers and stating that payment is electronic.
• Staff procedures for failed payments, network outages, refunds and customers who insist on cash.

A business with no corporate bank account should start there. Our corporate bank account and KYC service covers the documents banks ask for.

What to do now

1. Check the Schedule. Match each revenue stream to items 1 to 9. Record which streams are inside the Order and which are not.
2. Confirm your start date. If you were receiving scheduled payments before 1 July 2026, plan to finish by 31 December 2026. If you opened later, you have no transition.
3. Open the channels. Register merchant till numbers in the business name, request a bank POS and set up bank transfer details. Get each provider's charges in writing.
4. Integrate receipting. Make sure every electronic payment produces or ties to an EFD or VFD receipt for the same amount.
5. Write a cash policy. State what staff do when a customer offers cash, when the network fails and when a refund is due. Keep a log of exceptions.
6. Train staff and put up signs. Brief cashiers, receptionists, pump attendants and bursars. Display till numbers and a short notice at each point of sale.
7. Update contracts and invoices. Add electronic payment terms to leases, school fee schedules, booking terms and vehicle sale agreements. Pre-1 July contracts are protected, but renewals are not.
8. Reconcile daily. Match till, POS and bank reports to fiscal receipts every day, and keep the records with your tax files.
9. Get advice where the position is unclear. Zanzibar operations, mixed-use premises and any threatened sanction need written advice from an advocate or tax adviser.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Zatra's tax and regulatory compliance team maps each revenue stream against the Schedule, sets up a payment and receipting plan, and checks that till, POS and EFD records reconcile. We help open corporate bank accounts, prepare cash policies and staff checklists, and update lease, booking and fee terms. For groups in Zanzibar we coordinate written advice on the legal position.

The Order sets no government fee for going electronic. Where a related filing or licence carries a government charge, it is paid to the authority at the official rate against its control number. Zatra's professional fee is separate and listed on our pricing page, and government charges are never marked up.

Zatra does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 6 October 2026.

• GN No. 158C: Electronic Transactions (Mandatory Electronic Payments for Specified Transactions) Order, 2026: Minister for Finance, published by TRA, 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• The Finance Act, 2026 (Act No. 2 of 2026), Part III: Parliament of Tanzania, published by TRA, 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• The Electronic Transactions Act, Cap. 442 R.E. 2022: Ministry of Finance, revised edition 2022. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Copy of GN No. 158C: FB Attorneys, July 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania introduces mandatory electronic payment for specific identified transactions: EY Global Tax News, 14 Aug 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania: Cash Payments Banned: LEX Africa, 3 Aug 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania mandates digital payments for key transactions: Daily News, 5 Aug 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Mandatory Electronic Payments for Specified Transactions, Tanzania 2026: Velma Law, 30 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.
• Tanzania makes digital payments mandatory in key sectors: The Citizen, 11 Jun 2026. Accessed 6 Oct 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• End of the transition (31 December 2026 on our count): the Order says "within six months" and prints no date; LEX Africa suggests around 1 January 2027
• Zanzibar application: unconfirmed; depends on where the current section 13 sits and on section 2 of Cap. 442
• Licence renewal refusal: reported by Daily News on 5 Aug 2026; not found in the Order or Part III of the Finance Act, 2026
• Bank, card and mobile money charges: commercial tariffs set by each provider; not government fees and not in the Zatra fee register
• Hotel and fuel prices in the worked example: illustrations only, not market or regulated prices

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.