Electronic money growth in UEMOA

The value of electronic money transactions in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) rose by nearly 40 percent in 2025, according to the West African Central Bank (BCEAO). Mobile phone-based financial services recorded 219,151 billion CFA francs (approximately 374 billion dollars) in transactions in 2025, compared to 156,889 billion CFA francs in 2024.

Transaction volume also rises

The number of operations increased almost at the same rate, rising from 11.92 billion in 2024 to 16.37 billion in 2025, a 37.3 percent increase. Over a longer period, the annual value of transactions has more than doubled since 2022, when it stood at 96,133 billion CFA francs.

Transactions cover multiple uses

These amounts cover several uses, including transfers between individuals, payments, electronic wallet reloads, and withdrawals. The same amount can thus be recorded across several successive operations. The aggregate measures the flow of funds through these services and does not correspond to the operators' revenues.

Three countries dominate transactions

Three countries account for nearly 80 percent of transactions by value. Côte d'Ivoire is the leading market in the Union by value, with 71,307 billion CFA francs in transactions, or 32.54 percent of the regional total. Senegal follows with 58,617 billion CFA francs and a share of 26.75 percent.

Burkina Faso completes the trio

Burkina Faso completes the trio with 43,456 billion CFA francs, or 19.83 percent of the total. The combined share of these three countries reaches 79.12 percent. Their weight is also high in the number of operations: they represent 69.3 percent of the transactions recorded in the eight member states, according to central bank data.

Benin shows a different trend

Benin illustrates the gap between the number of operations and the amounts processed. With 2.67 billion transactions, it represents 16.31 percent of the total number of operations in the Union, but only 6.36 percent of the value, or 13,938 billion CFA francs. The weight of a market thus varies according to the indicator used.

Account activity is recovering

The activity of accounts is recovering. This growth is accompanied by an increase in the number of electronic wallets. The Union has 284.76 million open accounts as of the end of 2025, compared to 248.71 million a year earlier, a 14.5 percent increase.

Active accounts grow more rapidly

The number of active accounts is growing more rapidly, by 20.6 percent, reaching 92.71 million, compared to 76.86 million in 2024. The BCEAO considers an account active if it has recorded at least one transaction in the last 90 days. According to this definition, the activity rate rises from 30.90 percent to 32.56 percent.

Many accounts remain inactive

Thus, nearly two-thirds of open accounts remain inactive during this period. These statistics are about accounts, and a single person can hold multiple wallets with different providers. The acceptance of mobile payments is also expanding.

Active businesses increase

The number of active businesses reaches 2.97 million, compared to 1.70 million in 2024, a 74.4 percent increase. However, their growth remains lower than that of registered businesses, whose number increases from 3.71 million to 6.99 million. The proportion of active businesses thus decreases from 45.95 percent to 42.52 percent.