• Tunisia’s central bank launched the national “TUNPAY” label to unify and strengthen the country’s mobile payment ecosystem.

• Mobile transactions in Tunisia rose 81% in 2025 to 8.4 million operations worth 1.769 billion dinars ($616 million).

• Banks, payment institutions, and Tunisia’s postal service must integrate the TUNPAY visual identity into their digital and physical payment channels.

The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) advanced its digital payments strategy through the launch of “TUNPAY,” a national label designed to unify and strengthen the country’s mobile payment ecosystem. In a note published on Monday, May 5, the institution said it developed the initiative in partnership with Société Monétique Tunisie (SMT).

The initiative aims to harmonize the identification of mobile payment services for the general public. Authorities want to make payment solutions more visible and easier for users to recognize.

Under the framework, banks, payment institutions, and Tunisia’s postal service, which operate electronic wallet services, must integrate the TUNPAY visual identity into their applications, digital interfaces, and physical acceptance points. Merchants, agencies, and agent networks using mobile payment services will also display the label.

Through the initiative, the central bank seeks to strengthen user confidence and accelerate the adoption of digital payments in a market that remains in a development phase. Authorities also want to improve service interoperability and simplify the user experience as financial technology offerings continue to diversify.

The move comes as mobile payments record sustained growth in Tunisia. According to BCT data, the number of mobile phone transactions increased by 81% in 2025 to 8.4 million operations. In value terms, the transactions reached 1.769 billion dinars ($616 million) during the year.

Despite the momentum, Tunisia’s market still trails several African countries where contactless payments and near-field communication (NFC) technologies are expanding rapidly. In Tunisia, many mobile transactions still rely on SMS-based validation systems.

Tunisian authorities nevertheless continue to roll out initiatives aimed at accelerating the digitization of financial services. The strategy reflects a broader trend across North Africa and the continent, where central banks seek to modernize payment infrastructure to promote financial inclusion and reduce cash usage.

With TUNPAY, Tunisia aims to lay the foundations for a payment environment that is more structured, more recognizable, and better aligned with the rapid expansion of digital financial services.

Samira Njoya