Payments/CD/wallet-bank-transfers
Wallet-bank transfers
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "bank integration" means the links between mobile money wallets and bank accounts. With them you can top up a bank account from your phone, pull money from the bank into your wallet, or take M-Pesa cash from a bank's ATM without a card. The two named services are Vodacom's M-Pesa Banque na Tshombo, which reaches six banks and charges 0.90%, and Orange's Bank na Phone, launched with Equity BCDC in March 2022. Since 2025 the central bank's national switch, Mosolo, is meant to make banks and payment apps interoperable.
| Country | DR Congo (CD) |
| What it is | Wallet-to-bank and bank-to-wallet transfers, plus cardless ATM withdrawals |
| Services | M-Pesa Banque na Tshombo (Equity, UBA, Ecobank, Rawbank, Access Bank, BOA); M-Pesa with FINCA; Orange Money Bank na Phone (Equity BCDC) |
| Since | Mar 2022 (Bank na Phone); national switch Mosolo officially launched May 2025 |
| Cost | 0.90% from M-Pesa to a partner bank; bank-to-wallet fees set by the bank |
| Typical limit | Capped by your wallet's own limit; Banque na Tshombo fees are listed up to $2,500 |
| Reaches | Partner banks in the DRC; Rawbank's illicocash wallet also sends and receives abroad (since June 2023) |
| Code on paper? | No. ATM cash-out uses an 8-digit code sent by SMS |
How bank links came to DR Congo
The links grew from bank and operator partnerships, with the Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC) adding rules that oblige interoperability. MicroSave Consulting's 2025 timeline and a 2016 market review give the steps [7] [9]:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Apr 2005 | The BCC authorises card and terminal systems for banks, each closed to the others [7] |
| 11 Nov 2011 | BCC Instruction 24 lets e-money issuers in (Airtel Money, VodaCash, Tigo Cash) [7] |
| 2015 | First bank-and-operator products: Airtel and UBA's "Libiki" micro-loans (May), Trust Merchant Bank's "Pepele Mobile" (July), and Vodacom and Sofibanque's salary advance (October) [9] |
| 11 Dec 2015 | Multipay card switch launched by 4 banks (BCDC, Equity Bank Congo, FirstBank DRC, Rawbank) [7] |
| 9 Jul 2018 | Payment systems law no. 18/019 makes interoperability compulsory [7] |
| Mar 2020 | Instruction 42: interoperability, non-discrimination, access to the national switch [7] |
| 20 Nov 2020 | Instruction 48 creates the national switch Mosolo, run by the BCC. A pilot with UBA, Access Bank, BOA and Sofibanque starts on 23 December [7] |
| 31 Mar 2022 | Orange RDC and Equity BCDC launch Bank na Phone and EquityPay [5] |
| 4 Sep 2024 | Instruction 58 published; 12 banks connected to the switch [7] |
| 4 Mar 2025 / May 2025 | Instruction 58 in force: institutions must connect to Mosolo. Mosolo is officially launched to make cards, ATMs, payment terminals and mobile apps interoperable [7] |
M-Pesa's current terms say transfers to a bank or another provider can run "through the Switch Monétique National or approved interconnections" under BCC rules [8]. We found no source saying which wallet-to-bank transfers already run over Mosolo.
How to use it
M-Pesa Banque na Tshombo. You need three things: an M-Pesa Premium account, an account at Equity Bank, UBA, Ecobank, Rawbank, Access Bank or BOA, and your M-Pesa number linked to that bank account. Then dial *1122#, pick your USD or CDF account, and choose 4 Services financiers, 1 Banques, de m-pesa à la Banque. Pick your bank, then choose whether the transfer is for yourself or someone else. The same service also moves money from the bank to M-Pesa, at any hour, whether or not the bank is open [1].
M-Pesa with FINCA. FINCA customers who subscribe to FINCA Mobile can link their FINCA account to M-Pesa (Standard or Premium) and move money both ways. You can only send to your own bank account [2].
Cardless cash from a bank ATM. In *1122#, choose Retirer du Cash, then Retrait au Distributeur, then Equity or Rawbank, and enter the amount. You get an 8-digit code by SMS with an expiry date. At the ATM, choose "Transactions sans carte" and "m-pesa", then type the code, the phone number that received it, and the amount. The number can be yours or someone else's [3].
Orange Money Bank na Phone. Link your Orange Money account to your Equity BCDC account and move money between the two, 24 hours a day, from your Orange phone [5]. The Max it app offers instant transfers between Orange Money and your bank account through Bank na Phone [6]. Orange's own pages, read in October 2026, name no other partner bank. See Orange Money.
Limits and fees
| M-Pesa Banque na Tshombo | M-Pesa with FINCA | Orange Bank na Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallet to bank | 0.90% at every amount, $1 to $2,500 [1] | Same fee as a person-to-person M-Pesa transfer; minimum $1 or 1,000 CDF [2] | Not published on Orange's price list [10] |
| Bank to wallet | Not stated | Fee set by FINCA; no more than your wallet's limit [2] | Not published |
| Account needed | M-Pesa Premium [1] | M-Pesa Standard or Premium | Orange Money and Equity BCDC |
In CDF, Banque na Tshombo's bands run from 1,000 FC to 4,267,000 FC, all at 0.90% [1]. Limits change; check the current terms with your bank and your operator.
Paying shops and businesses
- EquityPay through Orange Money. Since March 2022, Orange Money users can pay at shops and supermarkets on Equity BCDC's EquityPay. The merchant is paid straight into its Equity BCDC account [5].
- Bank-to-wallet APIs. Vodacom's M-Pesa Open API includes B2W/W2B (bank to wallet and wallet to bank) for moving funds between M-Pesa and a bank account. Banks and payment aggregators apply for a business account directly [4].
Paying across borders
The links above connect wallets to accounts at banks in the DRC; none of the pages we read describes a foreign bank. A bank's own wallet is the exception. In June 2023 Rawbank and the payments company Thunes announced that Rawbank's illicocash wallet could send money abroad and receive it, making Rawbank "the first financial institution in the DRC" to offer both directions. Customers of Thunes' partners around the world can pay into illicocash [11]. For remittances into an operator wallet, see M-Pesa Mikili on the M-Pesa page and Orange Money Europe on the Orange Money page.
Is there a QR code for bank-to-wallet payments in DR Congo?
No. Every bank link we found runs from a phone menu: *1122# for M-Pesa, *144# or the Max it app for Orange Money [1] [6]. The only code involved is the 8-digit one-time code for cardless ATM withdrawals. It arrives by SMS and you type it at the machine; it is not scanned [3]. MicroSave's description of Mosolo lists cards, ATMs, payment terminals and mobile apps, and says nothing about a national QR format [7].
So a QR code on a Congolese bill is not a bank-integration code. The wallet pages cover what the operators use instead: M-Pesa (till numbers, see also the M-Pesa DRC standard) and Orange Money. For comparison, the merchant QR format common elsewhere in Africa is EMVCo merchant-presented QR.
Safety: your bank link is only as safe as your PIN
Linking a wallet to a bank account means whoever controls your phone and PIN can reach the bank account too. M-Pesa's terms forbid sharing your PIN, one-time code or secret word with anyone, Vodacom and Vodacash staff and agents included. If you give them away in a phishing attempt, a refund is not guaranteed [8].
- Treat the ATM code like cash. Anyone with the 8-digit code and the phone number can withdraw the money [3].
- Link only your own account. On the FINCA link, M-Pesa only lets you send to your own bank account [2]. Nobody legitimate will ask to link their account to your number.
- If your phone loses service unexpectedly, call your operator and your bank. The M-Pesa page explains how SIM-swap fraud works.
Bank integration and the alternatives in DR Congo
| Way to pay | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet–bank transfer | Moving savings between a bank account and a phone | 0.90% from M-Pesa; 6 banks plus FINCA on M-Pesa, Equity BCDC on Orange |
| M-Pesa | Everyday transfers and cash-out on Vodacom | Largest wallet; limits on its page |
| Orange Money | Everyday transfers on Orange | Flat 1% send fee [10] |
| Rawbank illicocash | Rawbank customers sending or receiving money abroad | A bank-run wallet with cross-border transfers through Thunes [11] |
| Bank card at an ATM or terminal | Card holders | Interoperable through Mosolo since 2025 [7] |
Sources
- Vodacom RDC, "m-pesa Banque na Tshombo", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.vodacom.cd/fr/particulier/m-pesa/service-financier/mpesa-banque-na-tshombo
- Vodacom RDC, "Transfert M-PESA vers MA BANQUE", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.vodacom.cd/fr/particulier/m-pesa/service-financier/transfert-m-pesa-vers-ma-banque
- Vodacom RDC, "m-pesa" (withdrawals page, "Retirer de l'argent"), read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.vodacom.cd/fr/particulier/m-pesa/retirer-de-l-argent
- Vodacom RDC, "Les APIs M-PESA", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.vodacom.cd/fr/particulier/m-pesa/service-financier/les-apis-mpesa
- Actualite.cd, "RDC : EquityBCDC et Orange lancent les services "Bank na Phone" et "EquityPay" deux services financiers mobiles, pratiques et innovants", 31 Mar 2022. https://actualite.cd/2022/03/31/rdc-equitybcdc-et-orange-lancent-les-services-bank-na-phone-et-equitypay-deux-services
- App Store, "Orange Max it - RDC", read 19 Oct 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orange-max-it-rdc/id6447896435
- MicroSave Consulting, "Interopérabilité en RDC : 20 ans d'évolution (2005–2025)" (infographic, PDF), Sep 2025. https://www.microsave.net/fr/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Infographie-Interoperabilite-RDC.pdf
- Vodacash SA, "Conditions Générales Client" (M-Pesa terms, PDF linked from vodacom.cd), read 19 Oct 2026. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OCMbHnR_JNAZdfwqS0KaO5I1ZZyLZzpZ/view
- Financial Afrik, "RDC : l'inclusion financière par le « Mobile Banking »", 8 Jul 2016. https://financialafrik.com/2016/07/08/rdc-linclusion-financiere-par-le-mobile-banking
- Orange RDC, "Tarif Orange Money", read 19 Oct 2026. https://www.orange.cd/fr/orange-money/tarifications-orange-money.html
- Crowdfund Insider, "Fintech Thunes, Rawbank To Enable Global Mobile Money Transfers", 6 Jun 2023. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2023/06/208221-fintech-thunes-rawbank-to-enable-global-mobile-money-transfers/
Researched 19 October 2026. Partner banks and fees change; the operators' and banks' own pages are authoritative.