ECOWAS: BCEAO prepares the evolution of cross-border payments

Since the creation of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), the BCEAO has been modernizing payment systems for its eight countries sharing the CFA franc. The issue gains new relevance as ECOWAS, which brings together fifteen countries with different currencies (naira, cedi, CFA franc), seeks to smooth intra-regional trade, in line with the African Continental Free Trade Area. Against this backdrop, Massi Lawson, deputy director of Payment Systems and Means at BCEAO, presented this strategy during a seminar for UEMOA journalists, held on July 20-21, 2026 in Dakar. According to him, modernization aims for transactions that are 'instant, secure and accessible' within the Union, before expanding 'to the scale of ECOWAS and the African continent'. For exporting businesses, West African migrants sending funds to their families, and SMEs engaged in cross-border trade, expanded interoperability would reduce costs and delays, currently often dependent on international correspondent banks. This announcement remains declarative at this stage: no timeline, budget, or technical partner was specified, and the link with Afreximbank's continental PAPSS system was not mentioned. It remains to be seen whether BCEAO will build its own gateway or rely on existing continental infrastructures.