Règlement n° 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC du 21 décembre 2018 relatif aux services de paiement dans la CEMAC (CEMAC Regulation No. 04/18 of 21 December 2018 on Payment Services)

REGIONAL INSTRUMENT, CEMAC zone. Regulation No. 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC of 21 December 2018 on payment services is the principal fintech and digital-payments regulation for the six member states of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC): Cameroon, Chad, Congo (Republic), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Central African Republic. Adopted at the regional level under the authority of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) and the regional banking commission (COBAC), and administered with the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), it applies uniformly across the monetary union and is recorded here once under Cameroon to avoid six near-identical entries. The Regulation fixes the conditions for exercising and supervising payment services in the CEMAC zone and modernises and consolidates the earlier regional rules on electronic money (notably the 2011 e-money regulation). Its central innovation is to bring payment services performed outside a traditional bank account within the regulatory perimeter: under Article 3, two new categories of service are expressly included, funds-transmission services that do not involve a bank account of the payer or beneficiary, and the issuance and management of electronic money. This is the legal basis on which mobile-money and e-wallet services (including those offered by mobile-network operators) are licensed and supervised across Central Africa. The Regulation applies to payment service providers operating in CEMAC, together with their technical partners and distributors/agents. Establishment as a payment service provider on the territory of a CEMAC State is subject to approval (agrément) by the National Monetary Authority of the relevant state, delivered after the favourable opinion of COBAC. Authorised providers may also offer connected services, including placing their own funds in low-risk accounts, currency exchange, payment guarantees and the management of payment terminals. The Regulation sets prudential, governance, safeguarding and consumer-protection requirements for providers, and addresses fund-protection, AML/CFT and operational-security obligations. Supervision and enforcement are exercised regionally by COBAC and BEAC together with national monetary authorities, ensuring uniform treatment of fintech payment providers across all member states. (Original language: French. Regional scope: all six CEMAC member states.)

1. 1Single regional regulation fixing the conditions for exercising and supervising payment services across all six CEMAC member states
2. 2Brings out-of-account funds transmission and electronic-money issuance within the regulated perimeter (Article 3), the legal basis for mobile money / e-wallets
3. 3Permits electronic money to be issued by providers that are neither credit nor microfinance institutions (e.g. mobile-network operators)
4. 4Requires payment service providers to obtain approval (agrément) from the National Monetary Authority after favourable COBAC opinion
5. 5Authorises connected services (low-risk fund placement, currency exchange, payment guarantees, terminal management)
6. 6Imposes safeguarding, AML/CFT, governance and consumer-protection obligations under COBAC/BEAC supervision