The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says new foreign exchange guidelines for licencing and operating foreign exchange bureaus will strengthen professionalism, discipline and compliance in the sector.
The guidelines published last week, require foreign exchange bureaus to renew their licences every two years and prohibit them from dealings other than spot transactions.
They also cover application of licence to deal in foreign exchange, issuance of licence and commencement of operations, renewal of licence, dealing of foreign exchange bureaus and general provisions.
In an interview on Sunday, RBM spokesperson Boston Maliketi Banda said the guidelines will contribute to a more transparent, orderly and stable foreign exchange market while enhancing public confidence in the sector.
He said the guidelines align foreign exchange bureau operations with the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act 2025 was enacted last year while incorporating the latest policy and regulatory requirements.
Maliketi Banda said a key feature of the guidelines is the introduction of a more robust and structured framework, which includes enhanced minimum capital requirements, fit-and-proper assessments for shareholders and management and strengthened due diligence processes prior to licensing.
He said: “In addition, the framework places strong emphasis on transparency, accountability and regulatory compliance.
“Bureaus will be required to maintain comprehensive transaction records, issue detailed receipts, submit regular regulatory returns and integrate with RBM monitoring systems to enhance oversight.”
University of Malawi economics lecturer Edward Leman, in an interview on Sunday, argued that the new guidelines reflect deeper structural weaknesses in Malawi’s forex ecosystem where enforcement is increasingly substituting supply-side reform.
In a separate interview, Mzuzu University economics lecturer Christopher Mbukwa said regulatory tightening without expanding foreign exchange supply risks pushing activity into informal channels.
He said: “It is only through increased forex supply through export growth or investor inflows that we can have a natural rate of forex on the market.
“Attempts to regulate without supply-side strategies will consolidate the black market and weaken export incentives.”
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said such interventions were already tried, but have failed to solve forex supply challenges.
“These guidelines have been tried before attached with strong punitive penalties and nothing has ever made forex available. These and many regulations and measures will not address the challenges of forex scarcities,” he said.
The guidelines further indicate that foreign exchange bureau will be licensed after meeting the fit-and-proper standard requirements as prescribed in the Foreign Exchange Directives 2025 and satisfied any other condition the Reserve Bank of Malawi deems fit and imposes on the foreign exchange bureau.
The guidelines also indicate that the association of licenced foreign exchange bureaus should also be established to ensure good business practices and better collaboration with the RBM to guarantee effective regulation and supervision of foreign exchange business.
They follow several foreign exchange directives the RBM has issued over the past year to shore up foreign exchange supply on the market.
