New BCEAO rules now govern electronic-money balances and transfers across the eight-country West African monetary union, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. They change both how much identified customers can hold and what participating providers may charge for transfers between their systems.
The maximum balance held by an identified customer with one electronic-money issuer rises from 2 million to 4 million CFA francs. Monthly cumulative top-ups rise from 10 million to 15 million CFA francs. Multiple wallets or instruments issued to the same customer by the same provider count together toward the limits.
For domestic person-to-person transfers through the interoperable instant-payment platform, PI-SPI:
- Transfers are free when the daily cumulative amount sent does not exceed 8,000 CFA francs per user, per participating provider.
- Transfers above that threshold may attract a charge capped at 0.8%, excluding tax.
- Receiving transfers is free regardless of their number or value.
PI-SPI connects participating banks, mobile-money providers and other financial institutions. In Mali, Orange Finances Mobiles and BNDA announced implementation arrangements, with BNDA directing bank-to-wallet transactions through the service integrated into its e-BNDA application. Availability still depends on each institution opening the relevant functions to customers.
The pricing rules concern covered interoperable transfers, not every cash withdrawal or transaction within a single mobile-money network. Equal treatment of domestic and cross-border transfer charges within the union takes effect on 1 June 2027.