The Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to pay Finance Bank of Malawi (FBM) K300 billion, a sum that has sparked anger over who will foot the bill for a 2005 decision. The ruling, issued by Supreme Court Registrar Ibrahim Hussein, breaks the payout down into K157.471 billion for […]
The Reserve Bank of Malawi has said a document circulating online, which claimed to double the official selling rate of the dollar, is a forgery and was not issued by the bank. The fake notice, which carries the bank’s crest and the name of Governor George Partridge, said the dollar selling rate had risen from […]
Kisukyabo Simwaka, Boston Maliketi Banda and Esau Banda are all leaving the central bank with immediate effect in a major management reshuffle The Reserve Bank of Malawi has seconded its Deputy Governor for Operations, Kisukyabo Simwaka, along with two other senior officials, in a management shake-up that takes effect immediately. Mr Simwaka is heading to […]
Malawi’s push towards a more digitised economy received a boost after the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) granted PayChangu a Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence, allowing the locally owned fintech group to offer payment aggregation services nationwide.
Malawi’s latest bid to turn gold into a lifeline for its struggling economy is facing uncomfortable questions about the evidence on which it has been built. A state-backed scheme designed to intercept gold before it is smuggled out of the country rests on a headline-grabbing claim that $100 million worth of the precious metal is […]
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), Dr George Partridge, has described non-bank financial institutions as a crucial pillar of economic growth, urging greater regional cooperation to strengthen regulation and protect savers across Southern Africa. Speaking at the opening of the 49th Annual General Meeting of the Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Banking […]
Reserve Bank of Malawin has officially confirmed the death of the cheque, announcing that the payment instrument will be scrapped for good on 11 March 2027 — marking a dramatic shift towards electronic and digital payment methods across the country. The bombshell announcement came in a joint statement issued late on the night of 28 […]
Malawians and visitors alike are facing a dramatic new crackdown on cash, after the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) slapped sweeping restrictions on the physical possession and movement of foreign currency — with anyone caught holding more than $1,000 without central bank permission now at risk. Under the astonishing new rules, anyone physically carrying more […]
Reserve Bank of Malawi governor George Partridge has called on the country’s financial services industry to accelerate efforts on financial inclusion, warning that large segments of the population remain excluded from formal credit and banking services. Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday at the launch of Old Mutual Finance Limited (OMFIN), a newly established non-deposit microfinance […]
A decision by the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) to slash executive salaries in 2020 has resulted in costly compensation payments to former senior officials after the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) ruled that the reductions were unlawful. The ruling, delivered on November 14, 2025, found that RBM unlawfully reduced the salaries of executives after its […]
Malawi’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to $616.3 million in June 2026 – but an economist has warned the improvement remains nowhere near enough to ease the forex shortages plaguing businesses and other users across the country. According to the Reserve Bank of Malawi’s (RBM) June 2026 Monthly Economic Review, total reserves increased from $596.5 […]
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 24.0 per cent, as the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to let previous tightening measures continue working through the economy rather than adjust borrowing costs further. The decision, taken at the MPC’s third meeting of 2026, comes as inflation […]
Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor George Partridge has laid down the gauntlet to Silver Strikers, urging the club to keep chasing silverware and pledging the bank’s full backing as they push on through the season. The Governor delivered his rallying call during a meeting with the club’s hierarchy — board members, coaches and players — […]
Malawi’s heavy reliance on cash is driving up the cost of replacing damaged banknotes, with economists calling for faster uptake of digital payment systems to ease pressure on the country’s currency. The Reserve Bank of Malawi expects to spend around 69.8 billion kwacha replacing worn and damaged notes this year, up from 50.6 billion kwacha […]
There is a particular kind of legal case that outlives the institution at its centre, and Malawi’s long-running dispute over Finance Bank is one of them. The bank itself has not existed in any meaningful sense since January 2006. Yet twenty years on, the machinery of the state and the ghost of a defunct lender […]
An advert for two messenger positions at the Reserve Bank of Malawi has provoked a wave of criticism after it emerged that the bank had set a bachelor’s degree as the minimum qualification for the roles. The advert, which circulated widely on social media, drew ridicule and pointed questions from Malawians who argued that a […]
A new Open Budget Survey 2025 Debt Accountability Module by the International Budget Partnership reveals that Malawi lacks an independent fiscal institution to scrutinise public debt management, leaving Parliament and the public to rely almost entirely on government’s own assessment of its borrowing decisions. Although the country has legal and policy frameworks for debt management, […]
Malawi’s new licensing regime for foreign‑exchange bureaus has been presented by the Reserve Bank as a step towards a cleaner, more transparent market. But the reforms have reopened a familiar question: whether supervision can meaningfully stabilise a system defined by chronic scarcity. The framework — shorter licence cycles, higher capital thresholds, spot‑only trading and mandatory […]