BY TANDZILE DLAMINI
EZULWINI– The Central Bank of Eswatini and the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Centre on 25 February 2026, launched a national training programme to strengthen anti financial crime controls and protect the country’s financial system from global criminal networks.
Held at the CBE Complex, the workshop brought together banks, insurance companies, mobile money operators and other financial institutions to fast track the adoption of electronic Know Your Customer systems and tighten compliance with anti money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws.
The initiative aligns with the 2024 amendments to the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Prevention Act, which embed risk based obligations directly into law and require institutions to implement more sophisticated customer screening and monitoring processes.
At the centre of the reform is the Risk Based Approach, a model that channels the most intensive oversight and compliance resources toward higher risk transactions and customers, while preserving financial access for low risk individuals and small businesses.
Deputy Governor Felicia Dlamini Kunene, represented by Director of Financial Regulation Beverly Mavuso, underscored the urgency of the intervention as the country advances its digital transformation agenda.
“This training comes at a crucial time as we collectively work to enhance financial integrity, strengthen customer due diligence systems, and advance Eswatini’s digital transformation agenda,” Mavuso said.
By moving away from a uniform compliance model, regulators aim to ensure that financial inclusion and financial integrity reinforce one another rather than compete. Calvin Dlamini, speaking on behalf of the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Centre, said recent national risk assessments exposed weaknesses in identity verification systems and beneficial ownership transparency.
“Our success requires a shared commitment,” he told delegates. “Regulators must strengthen their risk based supervision. Financial institutions must embrace risk based compliance. Government departments must support digital identity readiness.”
The two day programme is structured around four strategic pillars designed to protect the credibility and competitiveness of the country’s financial sector:
- Electronic Know Your Customer systems to transition from paper based verification to secure digital identity authentication, reducing fraud and accelerating onboarding.
- Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism compliance to improve transaction monitoring and data sharing across institutions.
- Counter Proliferation Financing controls aimed at preventing the movement of funds linked to the development of illegal weapons.
- Inter agency collaboration, particularly between financial institutions, the Ministry responsible for ICT, and the Civil Registry, to ensure digital identities are anchored in verified government records.
As mobile money and digital payments expand across the economy, authorities are under growing pressure to meet global benchmarks set by regional and international monitoring bodies such as the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group.
The 2022 Mutual Evaluation Report by ESAAMLG identified coordination gaps and called for stronger implementation of risk based supervision. This week’s engagement represents a targeted response to those findings and signals a coordinated national effort to close regulatory loopholes.
The workshop concludes with discussions on integrating the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Civil Registry more fully into the financial security framework, a move intended to anchor the country’s digital economy on secure, verifiable identity systems.
For the financial sector, the message is clear: safeguarding the integrity of the system is no longer a compliance exercise alone, but a strategic economic imperative.
