Banks in Liberia

The CBL licenses and supervises banks, oversees payment systems and can intervene in or resolve financial institutions. The main legal framework includes the New Financial Institutions Act of 1999 and the amended and restated CBL Act of 2020. Liberia's banking providers include commercial banks such as LBDI, Ecobank Liberia, International Bank Liberia, Bloom Bank Africa Liberia, Sapelle International Bank Liberia, United Bank for Africa Liberia, Access Bank Liberia, Guaranty Trust Bank Liberia and Afriland First Bank Liberia. The CBL's institution list dated 20 July 2026 also lists First Atlantic Bank Liberia. The 2025 CBL annual report counted nine banks in some statistics and used a different roster, so the current licensed-institution list should be checked directly with the CBL when choosing a provider. Banks offer demand, savings, time and matured-time deposit products, but interest rates, fees, commissions and other charges differ by institution. Banks must display their lending and deposit rates and applicable charges. A bank account may be held in Liberian dollars (LRD), US dollars (USD) or both. The Liberian dollar is the official transaction currency, while the US dollar is also legal tender. Bank access remains concentrated in Montserrado. In 2025, Liberia had 91 bank access points, including branches, windows and annexes, across nine of fifteen counties; one branch closed during the year. LBDI and Ecobank Liberia each represented 16% of reported branches. Agent banking, mobile money, microfinance deposit-taking institutions (MDIs), rural community finance institutions (RCFIs) and credit unions provide functional alternatives where a full branch is unavailable. These providers do not all have the same legal status as a bank. Under the CBL's amended agent-banking regulation, banks, MDIs and RCFIs may use approved agents under a written agreement and a CBL-approved product. Basic agents can provide cash-in and cash-out, bill payment, balance enquiries and application forwarding. A super-agent may also open regular savings accounts where its agreement permits it. Agents may not independently provide banking services, cash or deposit cheques, issue bank cheques or guarantees, or add unauthorized fees. The responsible institution remains accountable for the agent's service. Transactions should be processed in real time, encrypted, recorded in an audit trail and supported by a durable receipt or SMS; errors or system failures require reversal procedures. Basic agent limits include US$1,000 per customer per day, US$2,500 per agent per day for cash-out, US$5,000 per day for cash-in and US$2,500 per day for bill payment. A basic account can have a maximum balance of US$2,000, with daily cash-out limited to US$650 and cash-in to US$1,000. Simplified customer checks may use a National ID, driver's licence or voter ID. Where formal identification is unavailable, an accepted referee such as a clergyman or village, clan or town chief may be required, together with the customer's name, address and telephone number. Mobile money is widely used through Lonestar MTN and Orange Money Liberia. In 2025, the system recorded 13,612,251 cumulative registrations, 3,640,618 accounts active within 90 days and 348,259 registered agents, of which 30,495 were active within 30 days. Cumulative registrations do not represent unique people. The CBL cash-out fee policy set a 2% fee from 1 August 2025. The Interoperable Instant Payment System (IIPS), launched on 16 December 2025, connects banks, wallets, fintech providers and the Government of Liberia through Mojaloop-based real-time transfers. The National Electronic Payment System (NEPS) supports interoperable ATM and point-of-sale services, instant interbank transfers and bill payments. The national payment system also includes RTGS for large-value settlement, ACH/ACP clearing and the Securities Settlement System. PAPSS supports some cross-border payments in local currencies. Cards and digital banking are established services. In 2025, banks reported 1,204,657 USD ATM transactions worth US$435.99 million, 398,034 USD point-of-sale transactions worth US$44.96 million, 38,877 USD internet-banking transactions worth US$333.85 million and 1,206,509 USD debit-card transactions worth US$640.08 million. Prepaid cards accounted for 106,783 USD transactions worth US$8.34 million. These figures describe sector activity, not a guarantee that every bank offers every service. Banks must identify customers and apply customer due diligence and anti-money-laundering controls to customers, products, transactions, branches and subsidiaries. Anonymous accounts are not permitted. Banks generally retain transaction records for five years and keep customer-identification records for five years after the relationship ends. Non-face-to-face services and new technologies require additional risk assessment, and banks must appoint an AML/CFT compliance officer and train staff annually. A bank account becomes inactive after six months without customer-initiated activity and dormant after more than twelve months. If the balance is zero, the bank may not continue adding charges after six months. A reactivation fee may be allowed. Property with no relevant activity for fifteen years can become abandoned property subject to reporting or transfer to the CBL. Each bank must contribute to the statutory Deposit Protection Scheme, but the publicly available research does not establish a confirmed coverage amount, payout limit or standard claims procedure. The 2025 banking-sector figures show assets of L$364.40 billion, deposits of L$259.46 billion, loans and advances of L$102.33 billion and capital of L$48.29 billion. The reported capital adequacy ratio was 37.91% against a 10% minimum, and liquidity was 50.04% against a 15% minimum. Non-performing loans were 12.58%, above the reported acceptable limit of 10%, so sector stability does not remove credit-quality risk. A complaint should first go through the bank's internal process. If the bank does not reach an agreed solution within the CBL timeframe, an affected customer or authorized representative can submit a complaint with supporting evidence to the CBL Consumer Protection Unit. Anonymous or unauthorized third-party complaints are not accepted. Common reported problems include poor service, unauthorized withdrawals, fraudulent transactions, deposit or ATM fraud and money-remittance disputes. Customers should keep receipts and SMS notices, check transactions promptly and report unauthorized activity to the bank without delay.