Six days after making small mobile money transfers free across the region, the Central Bank of West African States, known as the BCEAO, moved again. On October 8, 2026, Governor Jean-Claude Kassi Brou signed Instruction No. 020, updating the 2015 framework that governs electronic money institutions across all eight member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, UEMOA. The new rules take effect on November 2, 2026, the same day as the updated pricing for the central bank's instant payment platform, PI-SPI.
The headline change is straightforward: customers can now hold twice as much in a single mobile money wallet. A verified customer can hold up to 4 million FCFA, roughly 6,850 US dollars, with any one issuer across all accounts and instruments combined. The previous ceiling was 2 million FCFA, or about 3,425 dollars.
Monthly top-up limits have also moved. Customers are now capped at 15 million FCFA per month with a single issuer, up from the previous limit of 10 million FCFA. Neither the wallet balance cap nor the monthly recharge limit applies to distributors or merchants and agents operating in a professional capacity.
But the limit increases are only part of the story. Another change buried in the instruction has drawn far less attention, and that detail may matter more to how mobile money actually works in the region going forward.
Originally published by TechCabal.