BCEAO limits transaction fees for digital money transfers in West Africa
Headline and summary by local AI
The BCEAO, a central bank in West Africa, established new rules for the PI-SPI network to lower costs for digital money transfers among individuals in the UEMOA region.
The new regulations determine transfer fees based on a user's total daily spending rather than individual transactions. Users can send money for free as long as their total daily transfers do not exceed 8,000 FCFA.
If the daily total goes above this limit, financial institutions can charge a fee of up to 0.8 percent of the transferred amount, excluding taxes. Receivers do not pay fees to get the money. The PI-SPI network launched in September 2025 to allow instant transfers between banks and payment institutions. The network grew from 74 financial institutions at the end of 2025 to 80 establishments by June 2026.
The BCEAO requires all interoperable digital money transactions in the union to use this platform starting November 2, 2026.
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