The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) is set to flick the switch on its long-awaited regional instant payment system tomorrow, September 30. But a look at the exclusive guest list for the launch party suggests some of the biggest names in the region’s payments scene didn’t get the invitation.
The BCEAO has published its official list of 31 banks, mobile money operators, and microfinance institutions authorised to go live on the new Interoperable Platform of the Instant Payment System (PI-SPI). While the platform promises to finally connect the fragmented financial landscape of the eight-nation West African currency union, the starting lineup is as notable for who is on it as for who is missing.
Conspicuously absent from the list are mobile money giant MTN and the venture-backed fintech unicorn Wave, two of the most dominant forces in the region’s digital payments market. Their omission from day one of the most significant financial infrastructure project in years raises immediate questions about their regulatory standing and the competitive road ahead.
The A-List and the Absentees
The 31-strong launch cohort is dominated by a handful of players who have clearly done their homework. Coris Bank Group is the star pupil, securing authorisation in all eight member states. Orange is also well-represented, with its mobile money and banking arms cleared for launch in key markets like Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. The list is rounded out by a handful of other compliant institutions, including Orabank, Baobab, and, in a single appearance in Senegal, pan-African giant Ecobank.
This makes the absence of their main rivals all the more glaring. MTN, which along with Orange forms the duopoly in mobile money across much of the region, is nowhere to be seen.
Even more striking is the exclusion of Wave. The Senegal-based, US-backed fintech built its $1.7bn valuation on a model of radical simplicity and low fees, forcing incumbents to slash their own prices. Its brand is synonymous with the kind of seamless interoperability the PI-SPI aims to provide. To be left out of the official system — at least for now — is a significant strategic setback, or strategic calculations for the company.
The silence extends to major traditional banking groups as well. The vast regional networks of giants like Société Générale, UBA, and Bank of Africa are also missing from the starting grid, suggesting the path to compliance is proving tricky for institutions of all sizes, not just disruptive fintechs.
The Regulatory Guillotine
The launch of the PI-SPI is the culmination of a forceful new regulatory strategy from the central bank. While the platform is the “carrot” — a modern, efficient infrastructure for compliant players — it is inextricably linked to a very large “stick.”
Earlier this year, the BCEAO introduced tough new licensing rules (Instruction №001–01–2024), demanding that all digital payment providers obtain direct authorisation. After an initial deadline caused widespread service disruptions and an outcry from the tech ecosystem, the central bank extended the compliance cut-off to August 31, 2025.
In a notice from Governor Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, the bank’s message was unequivocal: “From September 1, 2025, only licensed entities will be permitted to offer payment services within the Union.”
The go-live list for the PI-SPI, dated September 22, is therefore the first public scorecard of who made the grade. For those not on it, the implication is they have not yet completed the notoriously complex licensing process, the subsequent technical integration, or both. The new system isn’t just a tool for financial inclusion; it’s a gatekeeper.
A War on Two Fronts
For fintechs like Wave, the regulatory squeeze is coming at the worst possible time. They are already locked in a brutal, margin-crushing price war with the very incumbents who have made it onto the PI-SPI list.
Across the region, telecom operators are preemptively adopting Wave’s own disruptive tactics. In Cameroon, Orange recently slashed peer-to-peer transfer fees to zero to front-run Wave’s anticipated launch. In Côte d’Ivoire, MTN has gone even further, scrapping withdrawal fees entirely — a direct assault on Wave’s core value proposition.
This pincer movement puts challengers in a precarious position. While telcos use their deep pockets to turn the market into a race to the bottom on fees, the regulator is raising the cost and complexity of participation. Just as the incumbents learned to copy Wave’s market-shredding tactics, the central bank appears to have decided the market needs a little less shredding and a lot more paperwork.
For consumers, the PI-SPI launch marks a significant step forward. But for the innovators on the ground, it represents a pivotal moment. The starting gun for West Africa’s new era of integrated payments has fired, yet some of the leading players remain stuck in the blocks — waiting for regulatory approval to compete or opting out of a system that could dramatically reshape their business models. Only time will reveal whether this proves to be a strategic advantage.