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The Interbank Monetary Group of Central Africa (Gimac) processed over 7.3 million electronic currency transactions in 2022. This amount increased tenfold compared to 2020 when interoperable transactions accounted for 1.1 million operations amounting to CFA21.08 billion. The overall volume of these transactions exceeded CFA224.1 billion, according to a report published on November 7, 2023, by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).
The Interbank Monetary Group of Central Africa (Gimac) processed over 7.3 million electronic currency transactions in 2022. This amount increased tenfold compared to 2020 when interoperable transactions accounted for 1.1 million operations amounting to CFA21.08 billion. The overall volume of these transactions exceeded CFA224.1 billion, according to a report published on November 7, 2023, by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). Interoperability through Gimac has enabled citizens from all CEMAC countries to send and receive funds through electronic money operations, as well as to pay for goods and services, the central bank explained.
The document indicated that over 96% of transactions (2.3 billion operations) in the CEMAC zone during 2022 were carried out via Mobile Money, compared to only 2% (48.3 million operations) using traditional bank transfers and cards. However, despite the boom in financial services via mobile platforms, it should be noted that mobile money is mainly favoured for small-value transactions carried out by economic agents. Transactions with the highest value continue to be dominated by traditional banks. In value, conventional bank transfers come in first place with 44% of transactions, totaling CFA48,573 billion, followed by instant transfers of electronic money used in 21% of transactions (CFA23,332 billion). Transfers (across all categories) represent 65% of the total transaction value in the zone.
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The rise in transaction volume can be attributed to the launch of the GimacPay platform in 2020. This platform serves as an integrated system managing both card transactions and merging Mobile Money transactions among different mobile network operators in CEMAC, banks, and microfinance institutions utilizing a mobile wallet connected to bank accounts. As of December 31, 2022, the GimacPay network counted 89 participants, including 53 banks, 10 microfinance institutions, 11 Mobile Money operators, one Treasury, and 14 aggregators.
With a capital of CFA3.5 billion, 99% owned by BEAC, Gimac’s mission involves promoting, providing, supervising, and regulating electronic payment services. However, despite being headquartered in the central services of the central bank in Yaoundé, Gimac remains a small player in electronic money transaction processing, holding a market share of barely 1% in a market valued at CFA23,332 billion in 2022 according to BEAC.
