Fintech Companies In Central Africa Can Now Directly Maintain Current Accounts With Central Bank

The Bank of Central Africa can now open current accounts for payment and microfinance institutions in the same way that it does for banks and other financial institutions. The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) Board of Directors granted this approval when it convened in ordinary session on March 14, 2023 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The Board of Directors of the said bank allowed the BEAC Government to establish current and settlement accounts for payment institutions and microfinance institutions authorised to offer payment services on a case-by-case basis, according to the BEAC’s criteria.

Bank of Central Africa

It should be noted that under the rules of Article 5 of the CEMAC Payment Services Regulation of December 21, 2018, firms are entitled to operate as payment service providers, credit institutions, microfinance institutions, or approved payment providers.

read also Banking Crisis Propels Bitcoin Higher

Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea comprise the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). It has a population of roughly 37 million people and a total surface area of about 3 million km2.

Bank Central Africa fintech Bank Central Africa fintech

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. 
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard