The Da Afghanistan Bank Law establishes Afghanistan's central bank and its payment-system responsibilities. Registration, licensing, regulation and supervision of systems and operators fall within that mandate, providing the public-authority foundation beneath payment activity.
TL;DR:
- DAB registers, licenses and supervises payment systems and their operators.
- Establishes central-bank powers over currency, monetary policy and financial oversight.
- Detailed provider and service requirements sit in separate DAB regulations.
Summary
A central-bank mandate for Afghanistan
The Da Afghanistan Bank Law establishes the central bank and sets out its objectives, tasks, autonomy and governing arrangements. Its payment-system role is part of a wider public mandate that includes monetary policy, currency and financial oversight. The law identifies DAB as the institution exercising those powers rather than as a commercial provider serving customers at checkout. The official English document is a translation of the statute and should be read with that language and version context in mind.
Authority over payment infrastructure
Payment-system responsibilities include registration, licensing, regulation and supervision of systems and their operators. This gives DAB a legal basis to oversee the arrangements through which payment instructions are cleared and settled. The infrastructure role is broader than a particular card, transfer application or brand: a service can depend on a supervised system while being supplied by a separately regulated institution. The law establishes the authority behind that oversight, with operational detail supplied through the relevant regulations.
Currency and central-bank operations
The law’s currency chapter deals with the monetary unit, issuance of banknotes and coins, legal tender, currency features and exchange of unfit notes. It also provides for recall and for the treatment of currency in the central bank’s accounts. These provisions connect the afghani used in payment obligations with the public institution responsible for supplying physical currency. Other chapters address the central bank’s financial affairs and its operations, showing that payment infrastructure is one element of a larger monetary framework.
Institutional powers and provider permissions
The statute should be distinguished from DAB’s more specific rules for payment institutions, electronic-money institutions, transfers and system operators. Establishing the central bank’s power to regulate an activity does not identify the precise permissions of an individual business. For a payment arrangement, the law explains which public authority is responsible, while the applicable regulation and the firm’s actual authorisation explain how that authority is exercised over the service. The distinction is especially relevant where several institutions share a payment chain.
Keywords
- Afghanistan banking
- DAB
- monetary policy
- currency issuance
- payment oversight
- operator licensing
- financial stability
- central banking
- afghani
- bank supervision