- Banking and financial licensing are Union-level powers in the Comoros.
- The Central Bank of the Comoros says island authorities are not recognised and cannot issue financial licences.
- Its June 2022 warning names both MISA and the AOFA (republished in December 2025), and a separate communiqué of 8 December 2025 states that no forex “Brokerage License” has been issued.
- Banks, PSPs and platform vendors increasingly refuse these licences.
The central bank’s position
The Comoros Banking Law of 2013 places the licensing of banks and financial institutions with the Banque Centrale des Comores. In June 2022 the central bank warned the public about “fictitious structures” claiming to issue licences in the Union, naming the Mwali International Services Authority and the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority, and referred them to prosecutors. The Ministry of Finance republished that warning on 10 December 2025.
In a separate communiqué dated 8 December 2025, the central bank stated that these structures “are not recognised in the Union of the Comoros” and hold no legal authorisation to issue financial licences, that no licence has been issued for forex “often presented as a ‘Brokerage License’”, and that claims based on Comorian licences it did not issue are fraudulent. Read the BCC communiqué.
What it means in practice
- Many banks and payment providers decline companies relying only on a Comoros licence.
- Liquidity providers and platform vendors apply extra scrutiny.
- Clients have no recognised investor protection.
If you still consider one
Be transparent on your website, never describe the company as regulated by the Comoros, and plan a move to a recognised licence such as Mauritius or Seychelles. Read the Mwali and Anjouan profiles.