The first edition of the National Electronic Money Fair opened on Wednesday December 10, 2025 in Dakar. Occasionally, the director national of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), François Sène said that the rise of digital payments is contributing to improving financial inclusion and reducing poverty.

The first edition of the National Electronic Money Fair is on the theme “Digital payments and financial inclusion: the challenge of monetary sovereignty in West Africa.” According to the organizers, This meeting aims to stimulate reflections in order to promote as much as possible financial inclusion and the formalization of transactions. François Sène a indicated that “in a context marked by the rise of payments digital, the use of technology in payments, through the use of cards, the initiation of transactions online or from electronic wallets, is an opportunity to improve financial inclusion, contribute to the reduction of poverty and to economic emergence.”

The Director General of the Interbank Group UEMOA electronic payment system (GIM-UEMOA), Minayegnan Coulibaly, also indicated that digital payments are increasingly becoming “the door” entry point to financial inclusion.”

The president of the Professional Association of banks and financial institutions of Senegal (APBEFS), Khady Boye Hann, a indicated that this fair is the recognition of the importance of the role of the promotion of bank cards and the development of interbanking digital in Senegal.