VU Payments & Fintech Regulation

VU schema world-payments-v1 trajectory: not yet assessed

Last updated · 14 modules · 73 sourced findings · 104 sources in the cumulative register

Jurisdiction brief

Latest update · 3 November 2026

Lead Signal

Vanuatu's Parliament passed a Financial Dealers Licensing (Amendment) Act in its October 2026 sitting that is reported to remove the existing "exempted dealer" category from the Financial Dealers Licensing Act [CAP 70]. The category's removal narrows who may operate outside the licensed-dealer perimeter, pulling firms that previously relied on the exemption into the full licensing regime. This passed alongside, in the same legislative package, Financial Institutions (Amendment) and International Banking (Amendment) Acts, whose specific content has not yet been located from a primary source; passage of both is confirmed only by secondary press reporting, and the practical effect on bank and non-bank payment-services licensing cannot yet be assessed.

Key regulatory facts for VU
Regulatory DimensionVU Standing Position
JurisdictionVU (VU)
Regulatory ScopePayments & Fintech Regulation (14 modules, 73 sourced findings)
Licensing, Authorisation & Market AccessVanuatu's payment-system licensing and supervisory architecture is being re-founded: the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No.
Conduct, Safeguarding & PromotionsConduct and safeguarding obligations are split across RBV (mobile money/PSP trust-account safeguarding, AML/CTF conduct duties, external dispute resolution) and VFSC (VASP fit-and-proper, cybersecurity, complaints...
Stablecoins & Digital MoneyVanuatu became the first Pacific nation with comprehensive virtual-asset legislation via the VASP Act No.3 of 2025, covering exchange, transfer, custody and ITO/stablecoin-adjacent activity under VFSC, while the 2025...
Operational Resilience & Critical InfrastructureOperational resilience of Vanuatu's payments infrastructure rests on the National Payment System Act 2021 (RBV oversight of VANKLIA), the Cybercrime Act 2021, and a national cyber-security strategy through 2030,...
Primary Instruments CitedVU Official Instrument (rbv.gov.vu 70-legislation-for-banking-indus), VU Official Instrument (offshore-protection.com vanuatu-international-banking-li), VU Official Instrument (rbv.gov.vu view-category-id-2-resetfilters-), VU Official Instrument (rbv.gov.vu Vanuatu-20MMSP-20Operating-20Gui), VU Official Instrument (pln.vu modernising-the-resrve-bank-of-v)
Last Confirmed / Updated2026-11-04 (104 sources in cumulative register)

#

Vanuatu's payment-system licensing and supervisory architecture is being re-founded: the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 (passed 6 November 2025, repealing RBV Act [CAP 125]) expressly brings payment system operators, e-money and digital-wallet providers within RBV's direct supervisory remit for the first time, but the Act had not commenced as of this cycle.

Key judgment — Probable · impact ELEVATEDVanuatu's payment-regulation architecture is being materially reshaped through the pending RBV Act No. 37 of 2025, which brings non-bank e-money and digital-wallet providers under central-bank prudential oversight for the first time, creating an unresolved regulatory boundary with VFSC's existing VASP remit.claims: wpm-2026-W42-001, wpm-2026-W42-004
Open gap — wpm-int-1Gazetted text and substance of the Financial Institutions (Amendment) and International Banking (Amendment) Acts not located.no under-indexing note recorded
Horizon · 2026-Q4 (± six months)RBV Act No. 37 of 2025 commencement pendingAdopted · Tier 1 source
Horizon · 2026-Q4 (± six months)RBV Act No. 37 of 2025 expected commencementAdopted, not yet in force · Tier 3 source
Standing sub-brief · as of 18 October 2026 351 words · last cycle 2026-11-01

Licensing, Authorisation & Market Access

The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025, passed by Parliament on 6 November 2025, repeals the previous RBV Act [CAP 125] and would bring payment system operators and e-money/digital-wallet providers within the Reserve Bank's licensing and prudential purview for the first time. This is a structurally significant expansion of RBV's regulatory remit into a market segment previously outside central-bank prudential oversight. As at this cycle, the Act has been passed but has not yet commenced: commencement is expected during 2026 once a gazette notice is published, and no such notice has been confirmed. A December 2025 RBV board-vacancy notice indicates the Reserve Bank is already acting on provisions of the new Act for governance purposes such as board appointments, even while the substantive payment-system and e-money licensing provisions remain dormant pending commencement — a split-commencement state worth noting precisely because it means some parts of the Act are live while the market-facing licensing provisions are not.

Periodic update · new data 2026-11-04

Licensing, Authorisation & Market Access

Vanuatu's financial-sector licensing perimeter has moved during the parliamentary sitting that closed in late October 2026, as part of a package of financial-sector bills reported to number nineteen in total. The clearest development concerns the Financial Dealers Licensing (Amendment) Act, which is reported to remove the "exempted dealer" category from the Financial Dealers Licensing Act [CAP 70]. That category has historically allowed certain categories of dealer to operate outside the licensed-dealer perimeter; its removal narrows the population of market participants who can conduct dealing activity without becoming a licensed entity, and points toward a tightening of market access generally rather than a loosening of it.

Alongside that measure, the same legislative sitting is reported to have passed a Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act and an International Banking (Amendment) Act. Both are bank-adjacent instruments passed in the same reform package, but the substance of what each amendment actually changes has not yet been located in primary form — coverage to date rests on a secondary news account of the sitting rather than the gazetted text of either Act. Until that text is available, the practical effect of these two amendments on licensing conditions for banks and international banking entities operating in or from Vanuatu cannot be stated with confidence; what can be said is that the direction of the package as a whole, taken together with the Financial Dealers Licensing change, is toward a more credible and more tightly supervised financial-sector rulebook, consistent with Vanuatu's wider effort to meet external compliance expectations tied to its financial-sector standing.

For firms assessing market access, the immediate implication is that any reliance on the exempted-dealer route under the Financial Dealers Licensing Act should be treated as closed or closing, pending confirmation of the amendment's commencement terms. For bank and international-banking entities, the two companion Acts should be treated as a signal that licensing conditions are under active legislative revision, even though their specific content is not yet confirmed.

1 earlier distinct update(s)
Periodic update · new data 2026-11-03

Licensing, Authorisation & Market Access

Vanuatu's Parliament passed a Financial Dealers Licensing (Amendment) Act during its October 2026 sitting that is reported to remove the existing "exempted dealer" category from the Financial Dealers Licensing Act [CAP 70]. This category had previously allowed certain dealers to operate outside the full licensing perimeter established under that Act; its removal means that entities previously relying on the exemption will need to hold a Financial Dealer Licence to continue operating, narrowing the population that can lawfully provide financial-dealing services in or from Vanuatu without authorisation. The reform was reported by legal commentary tracking the parliamentary sitting, and the gazetted text of the amendment has not yet been located, so the precise scope of the removed exemption, any transitional arrangements for firms currently operating under it, and the commencement date all remain to be confirmed against the published instrument.

The same parliamentary session produced a Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act and an International Banking (Amendment) Act, both confirmed as passed by a separate press report, but without located detail on their substantive content. These two instruments plausibly bear on licensing and market-access requirements for banks and payment institutions operating under Vanuatu's financial institutions framework, but nothing can currently be said about their effect: whether they touch capital or prudential requirements, ownership and control tests for licensees, or market-access conditions for new entrants is unconfirmed. This is a genuine gap rather than a null finding, and it sits specifically within the licensing, authorisation and market-access space because both instruments by name address financial institutions and international banking directly.

Taken together, the confirmed exempted-dealer removal and the unconfirmed financial-institutions and international-banking amendments describe a legislative session clearly focused on tightening or reworking authorisation requirements across multiple categories of Vanuatu-licensed financial business. The pattern across the session, where confirmed detail is tightening rather than loosening, gives some basis for expecting the financial institutions and international banking amendments to move in a similar direction, but this is an inference about pattern rather than a finding about either instrument's actual text, and is not stated as a conclusion.

Outlook

The principal marker to watch is gazettal of all three Acts, which would allow the exempted-dealer removal's transitional arrangements to be assessed and would finally surface the substantive content of the Financial Institutions and International Banking Amendment Acts. Firms currently operating under the exempted-dealer category, or any payment or banking entity licensed under the instruments being amended, should treat the current legislative session as a live source of change to Vanuatu's authorisation perimeter, with the practical detail still pending publication of the Acts as passed.

Sources and findings (13)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/financial-stability/prudential-framework/70-legislation-for-banking-industryretrieved
  2. T4https://www.offshore-protection.com/vanuatu-international-banking-licenceretrieved
  3. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/?view=category&id=2&resetfilters=0&clearordering=0&clearfilters=0&group_by=exchange_rates___aud&start=20&limitstart1=160retrieved
  4. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/images/Financial_Inclusion/2025/Vanuatu%20MMSP%20Operating%20Guidlines.pdfretrieved
  5. T3https://www.pln.vu/single-post/modernising-the-resrve-bank-of-vanuaturetrieved
  6. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/virtual-asset-service-provider/retrieved
  7. T3Financial Dealers Licensing (Amendment) Act — Financial Dealers Licensing (Amendment) Act — Reported to remove the 'exempted dealer' category under the Financial Dealers Licensing Act [CAP 70], narrowing who may operate outside the licensed-dealer perimeter.retrieved
  8. T1Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Passed 6 November 2025, repeals and replaces RBV Act [CAP 125]; not yet commenced as of this cycleretrieved
  9. T1VANKLIA (National Payment System RTGS/ACH platform) — VANKLIA (National Payment System RTGS/ACH platform) — Administered by RBV under Part 2 of the National Payment System Act No. 8 of 2021; active participants are ANZ Bank, BSP Bank, Bred Bank, National Bank of Vanuatu and RBV itselfretrieved
  10. T3Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Payment system operators and e-money/digital-wallet providers newly fall within RBV's licensing and prudential purviewretrieved
  11. T3Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act No. 37 of 2025 — Act has been passed but has yet to commence; expected to come into effect in 2026 once a gazette notice is publishedretrieved
  12. T3E-money/digital-wallet providers — Under the new RBV Act, e-money/digital-wallet providers fall within RBV's purview while VFSC continues as VASP regulator, creating an overlap not yet fully resolvedretrieved
  13. T2Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act / International Banking (Amendment) Act — Financial Institutions (Amendment) Act / International Banking (Amendment) Act — Passed as part of the same financial-sector reform package; specific content not located this run.retrieved

#

Conduct and safeguarding obligations are split across RBV (mobile money/PSP trust-account safeguarding, AML/CTF conduct duties, external dispute resolution) and VFSC (VASP fit-and-proper, cybersecurity, complaints and travel-rule guidance). Financial promotion policy toward cryptocurrency has moved from an outright dealing ban (2019) to a licensed pathway (2021, formalised 2025).

Open gap — wpm-gap-2026-11-01-001W1b-W13 modules carry no in-window finding; financial sector reform bill content for Financial Institutions and International Banking Amendments not located.no under-indexing note recorded
No sub-brief written this cycleThe module carries open gaps but no narrative analysis was authored this cycle. Flagged for the next research pass.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (5)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/images/Financial_Inclusion/2025/Vanuatu%20MMSP%20Operating%20Guidlines.pdfretrieved
  2. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/images/Press_Releases/2018/PR10%20-RBV%20Stance%20on%20the%20cryptocurrencies.pdfretrieved
  3. T3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu_Financial_Services_Commissionretrieved
  4. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/virtual-asset-service-provider/retrieved
  5. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/retrieved

#

Vanuatu became the first Pacific nation with comprehensive virtual-asset legislation via the VASP Act No.3 of 2025, covering exchange, transfer, custody and ITO/stablecoin-adjacent activity under VFSC, while the 2025 RBV Act separately brings e-money issuance under RBV prudential licensing and opens the door to central bank digital currency exploration alongside the Vatu.

Open gap — wpm-int-2Relationship of the VASP (Amendment) Act to the stablecoin/CBDC/tokenised-securities carve-out not confirmed.no under-indexing note recorded
No sub-brief written this cycleThe module carries open gaps but no narrative analysis was authored this cycle. Flagged for the next research pass.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (7)
  1. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Virtual-Asset-Services-Providers-Act-No-3-of-2025.pdfretrieved
  2. T3https://www.pln.vu/single-post/modernising-the-resrve-bank-of-vanuaturetrieved
  3. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/VFSC-Risk-Assessment-for-Virtual-Assets-2025.pdfretrieved
  4. T4https://www.zitadelleag.com/services/vasp-licensing/vanuatu-vaspretrieved
  5. T4https://www.zitadelleag.com/services/vasp-licensing/vanuatu-vaspretrieved
  6. T1Stablecoins Act No. of 2025 — Stablecoins Act No. of 2025 — Stablecoin Supervisory Commission established under the Reserve Bank, with Jackson Miake appointed as first Commissioner of Stablecoins effective July 2026
  7. T2Virtual Assets Service Providers (Amendment) Act — Virtual Assets Service Providers (Amendment) Act — A VASP (Amendment) Act was passed; whether it touches the stablecoin/e-money carve-out in the original VASP Act is unconfirmed.retrieved

#

Operational resilience of Vanuatu's payments infrastructure rests on the National Payment System Act 2021 (RBV oversight of VANKLIA), the Cybercrime Act 2021, and a national cyber-security strategy through 2030, reinforced by VFSC's VASP-specific cybersecurity guideline and CERT Vanuatu's incident-response mandate.

Kept on Dataprotection.gi, not restated here: data and cloud switching obligations on service providers, including notice periods and charges. Open its jurisdiction pages on Dataprotection.gi →

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (5)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/?view=category&id=2&resetfilters=0&clearordering=0&clearfilters=0&group_by=exchange_rates___aud&start=20&limitstart1=160retrieved
  2. T1http://www.paclii.org/vu/legis/num_act/ca2021112.pdfretrieved
  3. T3https://dig.watch/resource/the-vanuatu-national-cyber-security-strategy-2030retrieved
  4. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/virtual-asset-service-provider/retrieved
  5. T1https://cert.gov.vu/images/ressources/Cybercrime_Act_n_of_2021.pdfretrieved

#

Vanuatu has no dedicated interchange, surcharging or PCI DSS regulatory instrument identified; card scheme compliance (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay) operates via commercial-bank EFTPOS interoperability agreements rather than a codified national scheme-access regime.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (2)
  1. T4https://www.bred.vu/business-banking/merchant-solutions-and-facilities/retrieved
  2. T3https://vbr.vu/feature/vanklia-the-nationalpayment-system/retrieved

#

Vanuatu's dominant payment corridor is inbound remittances from Australia and New Zealand tied to seasonal-worker labour mobility schemes; this corridor carries among the highest transaction costs in the world, remains heavily cash-reliant at the last mile, and is a policy priority for cost reduction by RBV and development partners.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (5)
  1. T2https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/reducing-remittance-costs-pacific-islandsretrieved
  2. T1https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/corridor/Australia/Vanuatu Applies beyond this jurisdiction (World Bank)retrieved
  3. T3https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-17/vanuatu-seasonal-workers-pay-high-remittance-fees-after-cyclones/102099386retrieved
  4. T4https://www.globalvoices.org.au/post/addressing-persistently-high-transaction-costs-in-remittance-corridors-between-australia-and-pacificretrieved
  5. T4https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/financial-services/18481-mycash-launches-mobile-money-transfers-between-fiji-samoa-tonga-and-vanuatu.htmlretrieved

#

Vanuatu's payments-relevant industry comprises five RBV-licensed commercial/international banks, a two-operator mobile-money duopoly (Digicel MyCash, Vodafone/TVL M-Vatu) with historically low uptake, and an emerging VASP-licensed digital-asset segment following the 2025 legislative reform.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (4)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/financial-stability/authorised-banks-supervised-financial-institutions?view=article&layout=edit&id=309retrieved
  2. T4https://goldenharbors.com/articles/vanuatu-banksretrieved
  3. T3https://www.uncdf.org/article/8730/mobile-financial-services-in-vanuatu-three-critical-challenges-and-how-to-solve-themretrieved
  4. T4https://www.zitadelleag.com/services/vasp-licensing/vanuatu-vaspretrieved

No payments-specific court litigation or RBV/VFSC payments-sector enforcement action was identified for Vanuatu; the principal legal/regulatory friction on record is diplomatic rather than judicial — Vanuatu's continued inclusion on the EU's AML-CFT high-risk third-countries list despite FATF delisting in 2018.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (1)
  1. T3https://fca.vu/vanuatu-and-the-eu-list-of-high-risk-third-countries-a-timeline-of-events-that-we-know-of/retrieved

#

Merchant acquiring in Vanuatu is bank-led (ANZ, BRED, NBV) rather than governed by a dedicated acquiring licence; card penetration among locals is low with cash dominant outside tourism-facing merchants, and high-risk verticals such as gaming and crypto are generally underserved or restricted by acquirers.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (4)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/?view=category&id=2&resetfilters=0&clearordering=0&clearfilters=0&group_by=exchange_rates___aud&start=20&limitstart1=160retrieved
  2. T4https://www.bred.vu/business-banking/merchant-solutions-and-facilities/retrieved
  3. T4https://www.anz.com/vanuatu/en/business/merchant-services/retrieved
  4. T4https://payatlas.com/countries/vanuatu-vuretrieved

#

The September 2023 VANKLIA launch (RTGS, ACH and CSD) is the central product/infrastructure innovation reshaping Vanuatu payments, complemented by a VFSC fintech sandbox for VASP innovation, earlier mobile-money pilots (M-Vatu, MyCash), and an ongoing RBV-led financial-inclusion strategy.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (5)
  1. T1https://rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/about-payments-system/vanklia-systemretrieved
  2. T2https://www.centralbanking.com/central-banks/payments/7959681/vanuatu-launches-new-automated-payments-networkretrieved
  3. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/virtual-asset-service-provider/retrieved
  4. T4https://www.dailypost.vu/news/tvl-to-pilot-new-mobile-money-platform/article_b9f54136-f891-5806-8bd8-99e8dffd4d85.htmlretrieved
  5. T3https://www.uncdf.org/article/8403/unleashing-the-potential-of-mobile-money-in-vanuaturetrieved

#

Consumer protection is anchored by RBV's External Dispute Resolution Scheme and emerging MMSP consumer-protection policy work (with UNCDF support), plus VFSC's VASP complaints-handling guidance; no dedicated APP-fraud mandatory-reimbursement regime (of the UK PSR type) was identified, and mobile-money data-protection practice remains under-defined.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (4)
  1. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/retrieved
  2. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/virtual-asset-service-provider/retrieved
  3. T3https://www.uncdf.org/article/8730/mobile-financial-services-in-vanuatu-three-critical-challenges-and-how-to-solve-themretrieved
  4. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/images/Financial_Inclusion/2025/Vanuatu%20MMSP%20Operating%20Guidlines.pdfretrieved

#

Sentinel.gi payments-context position: Vanuatu's AML/CFT framework, built on the AML/CTF Act No.13 of 2014, saw the country FATF grey-listed in February 2016 and delisted in June 2018 following a significant compliance overhaul; it nonetheless remains on the EU's own high-risk third-countries list, and the 2025 VASP Act extends AML/CFT (including Travel Rule) obligations to virtual-asset activity following a 2024 sector risk assessment.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (8)
  1. T4sentinel.zitadelleag.com/services/vasp-licensing/vanuatu-vasp
  2. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) per-JID baseline profile — Vanuatu — Vanuatu's AML/CFT regime rests on the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act No.13 of 2014 (as amended), the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Organised Crime Act, the Proceeds of Crime Act, and the Companies/International Companies Acts governing beneficial ownership. The Vanuatu Financial Intelligence Unit (VFIU) is the FIU and frontline AML/CFT supervisor; the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu supervises banks/insurers; the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC) supervises international companies, TCSPs, financial dealers and, since 2025, VASPs. The National AML&CTF Coordinating Committee (NCC) coordinates policy. Vanuatu is autonomous — bound by no supranational AML bloc.
  3. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-004) — Gap: sourcing-thinness
  4. T1FIM (sentinel.gi) sanctions_change_register (issue FIM-BASE-SANC-004) — Sanctions: OFAC listing
  5. T1FIM (sentinel.gi) enforcement_action_register (issue FIM-BASE-ENF-003) — Enforcement: OFAC — Individuals holding Vanuatu passports linked to Cambodia-based networks (e.g. Grand Legend International Asset Management)
  6. T1FIM (sentinel.gi) enforcement_action_register (issue FIM-BASE-ENF-004) — Enforcement: OFAC — SEEKER 8 (Vanuatu-flagged crude oil tanker)
  7. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-002) — Gap: legal-gap
  8. T?FIM (sentinel.gi) gaps_register_cumulative (issue FIM-BASE-GAP-001) — Gap: regulatory-failure

#

Vanuatu's cross-border payment access runs through a small number of correspondent banking relationships (CBRs) that IMF assessment and Pacific Islands Forum research both flag as under de-risking pressure, while domestically RBV administers Exchange Settlement Accounts and SWIFT-based international payment processing and participates in the regional PIRI regulatory network.

Open gap — wpm-int-3No sourcing located for W1b, W3-W13 this cycle.Emerging-market/Pacific-island payment-rail coverage (W1b, W3-W13) remains structurally thin for this jurisdiction.
Horizon · 2026-10-30 (± a quarter)Financial Institutions Act and International Banking Act amendment debateProposed · Tier 2 source
Standing sub-brief · as of 18 October 2026 294 words · last cycle 2026-10-18

Correspondent Banking, Settlement & Access

Vanuatu's correspondent-banking and settlement framework faces a scheduled legislative review this cycle. Parliament's First Extraordinary Session, sitting 19 to 30 October 2026, will debate amendments to the Financial Institutions Act and the International Banking Act, alongside amendments to the Trust Act, Company and Trust Service Providers legislation, and the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, all on the same 28-bill agenda for that sitting. The International Banking Act amendment is of particular relevance to how correspondent access and cross-border settlement arrangements function for internationally active banks licensed in Vanuatu, but the substantive content of the amendment — whether it touches licensing conditions, capital requirements, or correspondent-relationship rules specifically — has not been retrieved this cycle; only the scheduling of the debate is confirmed.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (6)
  1. T1https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/CR/2023/English/1VUTEA2023001.ashx Applies beyond this jurisdiction (IMF)retrieved
  2. T2https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/CBR%20Report_FINAL.pdfretrieved
  3. T1https://www.rbv.gov.vu/index.php/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=32:banking&catid=8&lang=en-GBretrieved
  4. T4https://goldenharbors.com/articles/vanuatu-banksretrieved
  5. T2https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/CBR%20Report_FINAL.pdfretrieved
  6. T2Vanuatu Parliament — Vanuatu Parliament — Financial Institutions Act and International Banking Act amendments scheduled for debate during First Extraordinary Session 2026, 19-30 Octoberretrieved

#

Trailing-12-month commercial activity for Vanuatu (Sept 2025-Sept 2026) is dominated by regulatory/institutional product launches rather than disclosed M&A or funding transactions: the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act 2025 institutional overhaul, the VASP Act's January 2026 fee-schedule gazettal, and VFSC's 2025 VASP risk assessment publication.

Absence reason not determinableNo sub-brief exists and the JID records no gap or review marker explaining why. The renderer will not invent a reason.

no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief

Sources and findings (4)
  1. T3https://www.pln.vu/single-post/modernising-the-resrve-bank-of-vanuaturetrieved
  2. T4https://www.zitadelleag.com/services/vasp-licensing/vanuatu-vaspretrieved
  3. T1https://www.vfsc.vu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/VFSC-Risk-Assessment-for-Virtual-Assets-2025.pdfretrieved
  4. T2Vanuatu payments/fintech sector — Vanuatu payments/fintech sector — No new M&A, investment, JV, licensing deal, product launch, or market entry/exit by a Vanuatu-incorporated or headquartered payments/fintech firm was identified since the last collection (2026-09-08)retrieved
No modules match.

Filters combine as OR inside a group and AND across groups.

Provenance and declared absence

Disclosure model: module cards load OPEN; standing positions render in full; sub-briefs and jurisdiction briefs load as a clamped teaser with an explicit “read full” control carrying the true word count; earlier updates stay collapsed behind a counted summary. No text is hidden without disclosing how much of it there is.

Sentinel-fed modules receive no special rendering treatment. sentinel_feed is an attribution chip only: it does not suppress content, does not generate an absence reason code, and does not exclude the module from any count, filter, search index or export on this page.

Family taxonomy is renderer-level presentation config, not a JID field. Colour is always duplicated in text and is never the sole carrier of meaning.

Suppressed by doctrine: derived risk score; per-module RAG traffic light. Not shown on this page.

Band honesty: uncertainty bands are computed against a frozen build clock of 2026-11-04. A year-precision row is never promoted into a tighter band.

Orphan deltas: 1 cycle_delta row(s) target non-module objects and are listed in the rail rather than attached to a card.

Envelope: baseline resolved at jurisdiction_json.baseline; 14 module(s), 73 finding(s), 104 source(s) in the cumulative register.

Audit trail

Machine checkChallenged on 6 Oct 2026: nothing tested (no claim on this page was eligible for an automated test). An automated, adversarial test run by a second model; no person has assessed the result.

Think something on this page is wrong? Report an error.