The Payment Systems Department of the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) has issued an urgent directive to commercial banks and payment service providers across the country, reiterating a total ban on cryptocurrency-related transactions. The central bank noted that users have increasingly used payment cards, particularly international bank cards, to buy digital assets on unauthorized offshore platforms operating outside the domestic regulatory perimeter.
Regulators warned that any capital losses or settlement disputes arising from these unregulated channels will not be protected under Lao law. To enforce the ban, the central bank ordered all financial institutions to conduct an immediate audit of their internal payment controls, deploy technical measures to block crypto payment gateways, and restrict specific Merchant Category Codes (MCCs).
By severing fund flows directly at the payment processor level, the central bank is taking a hardline approach to plug cross-border capital leaks into the virtual currency market.
