Electronic Payments Mandated For Specified Transactions In Tanzania

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

The directive applies to a broad range of payments made for goods and services. These include fees, charges, levies, tolls and fares for public transport services such as bus rapid transit systems, ferries, bridges, long-distance passenger buses, online taxi services, air travel, railway transport and parking.

It also covers payments for goods and services purchased in shopping malls, gymnasiums, cinema theatres, filling stations, conference and event venues, sports arenas, and international trade exhibitions such as Saba Saba and Nane Nane.

The scope extends to fees and contributions for educational services offered by pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, as well as tertiary institutions and universities. In addition, it includes payments for accommodation, food and beverages at hotels, restaurants and cafés, as well as tourism-related services.

The listed payments further cover the renting, sale or purchase of buildings, plots and farms, together with the sale or purchase of motor vehicles.

In the agricultural sector, the directive applies to activities undertaken through cooperative unions and Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) involving strategic crops such as cotton, cashew nuts, coffee, tea, sisal and tobacco. It also encompasses payments for agricultural inputs and pesticides.

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 for 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.

That 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.