Dakar (Senegal) By Massamba Sall - At the end of the first half of 2019, transactions via electronic money accounts amounted to 6203.20 billion FCFA (about 10.545 billion dollars), APA learned on Monday from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

These transactions increased by 857.3 billion FCFA compared to the second half of 2018.

In volume, these transactions amounted to 583.36 million against 430.74 million in the second half of 2018, an increase of 35.43%. “This progress recorded at the level of all operators reflects the continued adherence of the population to payment services backed by electronic money and is explained by the strengthening of the distribution networks deployed in WAEMU by electronic money institutions (EME )”, underlines the BCEAO in its half-yearly report on the monitoring of payment services backed by electronic money (SPAME).

With regard to intra-UEMOA outgoing and incoming transfers, Côte d'Ivoire appears to be the main sender of transfers with 61.60% of the total value of sub-regional transactions. Burkina Faso is positioned as the main receiver with 54.28% of transfers. According to the BCEAO, over the period under review, the distribution of the value of intra-UEMOA transfers by corridor highlights three main corridors which concentrate more than 79.47% of transactions. The Côte d'Ivoire-Burkina Faso corridor recorded 51.62% of operations, while that concerning Côte d'Ivoire and Mali collected only 17.42% and that linking Mali to Burkina Faso 10.43%.