A Mauritius Payment Intermediary Services (PIS) license authorizes a company to process payments for merchants and customers located outside Mauritius, under the oversight of the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The minimum stated unimpaired capital for Mauritius PIS licensing is MUR 2,000,000, not the MUR 500,000 still quoted in much of the market. The FSC raised the threshold by circular letter on October 3, 2018, and gave existing licensees a year to comply. The figure is a regulatory floor, not a project budget. A Global Business Company structure, resident directors, and ongoing compliance functions account for most of the real cost of running a licensed entity.
What Is a Mauritius PIS License?
The FSC issues Payment Intermediary Services licenses under Section 14 of the Financial Services Act 2007, which sets the general rule that no one may carry out financial services in Mauritius without a license from the Commission. The license is coded FS-2.9 on the FSC's current codified list of licensable activities.
A PIS license covers payment gateways, merchant acquiring, and the processing of cross-border, card-not-present transactions. Its defining limitation is territorial. The license covers payment intermediation conducted outside Mauritius. If a business's merchants and payers are in Mauritius, PIS is the wrong regime; see the PIS or PSP section below.
PIS applicants are typically structured as Global Business Companies, which brings its own layer of requirements: economic substance, resident directors, and locally maintained records, on top of the payment-specific rules that follow. For a broader comparison of where a payments business can be licensed, see Best Countries to Get a Payment License in 2026.
Mauritius PIS Capital Requirement: MUR 2 Million, Not MUR 500,000
The current requirement is MUR 2,000,000 in stated unimpaired capital, or the equivalent in another currency. As of August 4, 2026, at MUR 47.05 to the dollar, that is approximately USD 42,508. This is an indicative figure only, since the requirement itself is denominated in MUR and moves with the exchange rate.
Before October 3, 2018, the requirement was MUR 500,000. The FSC raised it to MUR 2,000,000 that day by circular letter, giving existing licensees one year to bring their capital into line. The MUR 500,000 figure still appears in several guides to Mauritius PIS licensing published within the last two years, eight years after it stopped applying.
Stated unimpaired capital means the capital must be paid in and not eroded by accumulated losses. It is a level a licensee maintains on an ongoing basis, not a threshold met only at the point of application. Companies structuring a Mauritius PIS application typically pair the capital requirement with a Global Business License from the outset, since the two are assessed together.
| FSC PIS | Bank of Mauritius PSP | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Financial Services Commission (FSC) | Bank of Mauritius (BoM) |
| Legal Basis | Financial Services Act 2007 | National Payment Systems Act 2018 |
| Scope | Payment gateways, merchant acquiring & cross-border card-not-present processing | Domestic payment services, including e-money issuance & payment-system operation |
| Client Geography | Merchants and payers outside Mauritius | Merchants and payers in Mauritius |
| Minimum capital | MUR 2,000,000 stated unimpaired | Set separately by service type |
| Structure | Mauritius company; typically GBC; 2 resident directors, local bank account, records & audit | BoM-authorised domestic payment provider; requirements depend on service type |
alt: A comparison of the Mauritius FSC payment intermediary services license and Bank of Mauritius payment service provider authorization.
PIS or PSP: Which Mauritius Regime Applies to You?
Mauritius runs two separate licensing tracks for payment businesses. The FSC's PIS license, under the Financial Services Act, covers payment intermediation conducted outside Mauritius. The Bank of Mauritius, under the National Payment Systems Act 2018, authorizes domestic payment services, including e-money issuance and the operation of payment systems used within Mauritius.
The choice between them turns on one question: where are the merchants and payers located? That determines the regime, not the type of payment product involved.
Capital requirements under the BoM regime differ from PIS and are set separately by type of service.
PIS often looks like the cheaper option, but it is also narrower in scope. A business model that includes Mauritian customers or merchants needs BoM authorization regardless of how the PIS numbers compare. In that case, the apparent savings come with the wrong license attached.
If you are deciding between an FSC payment intermediary license and Bank of Mauritius authorization, schedule a call with the Equilex licensing team to map your model to the right regime.
Requirements for a Mauritius PIS License
- Structure: a Mauritius company, typically holding a Global Business License. The GBL structure is what triggers the economic substance rules below; a domestic company without a GBL is assessed on a different, and less common, basis.
- Economic substance: two Mauritius-resident directors, a principal bank account maintained in Mauritius, and accounting records and audit conducted locally. The FSC treats these as evidence that the company is genuinely managed and controlled from Mauritius, rather than administered as a shell.
- Key functions: a Compliance Officer, a Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and a deputy MLRO; auditor details are collected as part of the application itself, not added later. These roles can be held by different people or, in a smaller structure, combined, subject to FSC approval of the individuals proposed.
- Capital: MUR 2,000,000 stated unimpaired, maintained on an ongoing basis rather than demonstrated once at the point of application.
- Reporting: audited financial statements prepared under IFRS/ISA, generally expected within six months of the licensee's financial year end.
- Bank of Mauritius sign-off: the FSC requests the Bank of Mauritius' views before granting a PIS license, a step confirmed on the FSC's own application form. It's a common source of timeline variation, since it adds a second regulator's input to what is otherwise a single-regulator process, and it applies regardless of how straightforward the rest of the file is.
- Filing: applications are submitted through the FSCOne portal; the FSC does not process paper applications, and incomplete submissions are typically returned rather than queried piecemeal.
Timeline and What Affects It
Mauritius PIS applications generally take not less than 2-3 months. Processing time still depends on the completeness of the application file and the depth of the FSC's due diligence. The step where the FSC seeks the Bank of Mauritius' opinion before granting a PIS license is one factor that can push a case toward the longer end of that range. A complex ownership structure, or opening a bank account as a separate step after licensing, can extend it further. A file that is complete on first submission, with the business plan, ownership structure and officer details in place from the start, moves faster than one that prompts the FSC to request further information, since each round of follow-up questions adds elapsed time on top of the FSC's own review.
FAQ
What is the minimum capital for a Mauritius PIS license?
MUR 2,000,000 in stated unimpaired capital, or the equivalent in another currency. The FSC raised the requirement from MUR 500,000 by circular letter dated October 3, 2018, giving existing licensees one year to comply. Some sources still quoting MUR 500,000 are eight years out of date.
What is the difference between a PIS license and a PSP license in Mauritius?
The FSC issues the Payment Intermediary Services license for activity conducted outside Mauritius, such as cross-border acquiring and gateway services. Domestic payment services, including e-money issuance and payment system operation, fall under Bank of Mauritius authorization. Client and merchant geography determines which regime applies.
Can a Mauritius PIS license cover e-wallet services?
Wallet and stored-value functionality may be possible within the scope of permitted payment instruments, subject to FSC approval of the specific model. Account-based services aimed at Mauritius residents generally fall under the Bank of Mauritius regime instead. The distinction turns on where the service is delivered.
Do I need local directors for a Mauritius PIS license?
Yes. Licensees are typically structured as Global Business Companies and must demonstrate economic substance in Mauritius. In practice, two Mauritius-resident directors, a principal bank account on the island, and accounting records and audit maintained locally.
How long does a Mauritius PIS application take?
Applications typically take two to three months. Timing depends on the completeness of the file and the depth of due diligence, and the FSC's step of seeking the Bank of Mauritius' opinion before granting the license can extend it toward the longer end of that range. Bank account opening runs separately after licensing.
