A high-stakes regulatory drama is unfolding across West Africa’s Francophone bloc. Fintech startups in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) are desperately hunting for operating licenses that many in the ecosystem are beginning to feel are non-existent. As a final compliance deadline of August 31, 2025, inches closer, the scramble has intensified, exposing a stark disconnect between the region’s ambitious digital finance agenda and the bureaucratic realities on the ground.
“I have been looking to purchase an existing license. I can’t find one yet. We’d be watching the regulator to see how it goes, ” one Senegal-based fintech operator confided in Launch Base Africa.
The predicament stems from Instruction №001–01–2024, a new licensing framework introduced in January 2024 by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The rule mandates that all digital payment service providers in the union’s eight member states — Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Niger, and Guinea-Bissau — must obtain direct authorisation from the central bank.
An original enforcement date of May 1, 2025, triggered chaos. Now, after a reluctant extension, the message from the regulator is clear: comply or cease operations.
A Fragile Rollout and the May Mayhem
The transition to the new regime has been anything but smooth. When the initial May 1 deadline hit, the ripple effects were immediate and severe. In Senegal alone, an estimated 90% of fintechs reported service interruptions. Across the region, payroll systems froze, digital wallets were suspended, and small businesses that had embraced digital payments were forced to revert to cash.
The disruption stalled partnerships, jeopardised funding rounds, and dealt a significant blow to the ecosystem’s momentum.
“We’ve seen investor confidence take a hit,” said Mohamed Thiam, co-founder of HR tech firm Socium. “If this had continued unchecked, even well-capitalised players would have been at risk.”
The source of the problem was a massive bottleneck. Despite an 18-month window to implement the new rules, the central bank had approved only 11 Payment Institutions (PEIs) by late May, leaving hundreds of companies operating in a legal grey area.
A Reluctant Reprieve
Faced with mounting pressure from startups, investors, and trade associations, the BCEAO conceded, pushing the final deadline to August 31, 2025. In a formal notice, Governor Jean-Claude Kassi Brou confirmed the extension but reiterated the bank’s firm stance: “From September 1, 2025, only licensed entities will be permitted to offer payment services within the Union.”
The central bank has defended its slow pace. According to François Sène, BCEAO’s Senegal Director, the delays were largely due to incomplete documentation from applicants. “We received many submissions with missing elements,” he stated at a press briefing, noting that the bank held regular discussions to guide companies toward compliance.
However, founders tell a different story, pointing to a systemic failure rather than simple paperwork issues.
“After nearly a year and a half, we don’t even have a dozen approvals,” argued Eric-Franklin Tavares, founder of Ivorian startup Paylican. “This isn’t just about paperwork. It’s about the system not being ready to process what it mandated.”
This disconnect was starkly illustrated at the BCEAO’s recent AI and Financial Inclusion Conference in Dakar. While central bankers discussed long-term technological strategies, the immediate licensing crisis crippling the region’s fintech sector went unmentioned. “There was a lot of talk about the future,” one founder who attended told Sifted, “but no one was addressing the present.”
The Winners’ Circle
So far, the exclusive club of licensed PEIs includes just 11 companies spread across five countries:
- Senegal: Flutterwave Senegal SA, Dunya Digital Payment SA, Mikaty Senegal SA, Bictorys SA
- Côte d’Ivoire: Julaya Côte d’Ivoire SA, TouchPoint Financial Services SA, SYCA SA, Firstcom Global Payments SA
- Mali: InTouch Mali
- Burkina Faso: InTouch Burkina
- Niger: iFutur SA
While these approvals are a positive step, they represent a tiny fraction of the active fintechs in the WAEMU market, leaving payment aggregators, payroll processors, and mobile money operators in a precarious position.
The Carrot and the Stick
The BCEAO isn’t just wielding a regulatory stick; it’s also dangling a very attractive carrot. The central bank has announced that its long-awaited regional instant payment system — the Interoperable Platform of the Instant Payment System (PI-SPI) — will go live on September 30, 2025.
This is no coincidence. The launch is timed to occur exactly one month after the licensing deadline expires.
The PI-SPI platform is a game-changer, promising to finally allow any customer of any participating bank, mobile money operator, or microfinance institution to transact with each other instantly, 24/7. Given that over 70% of the union’s electronic transactions are mobile-based, this interoperability is a long-overdue necessity.
The strategy is clear: the PI-SPI is the modern, secure, and efficient financial infrastructure that compliant, licensed players get to access. For those who fail to meet the August 31 deadline, it will be the locked gate to the future of West African finance, a system that powers their licensed competitors while they are left on the outside looking in.
What Comes Next?
The deadline extension provides a crucial, if temporary, reprieve. The central bank’s goal is to create a more stable and accountable fintech sector aligned with global norms, protecting consumers and attracting long-term capital.
However, the coming year will be a critical test. The BCEAO must prove it can scale its regulatory capacity and provide a transparent, efficient path to compliance. For the region’s fintechs, the race is on to rectify applications, strengthen governance, and secure their place in the new order.
West Africa’s fintech sector is suspended between two futures: one defined by regulated, interoperable innovation, and another shadowed by a regulatory bottleneck. The next move belongs to both the central bank and the startups it governs.