Bank to Wallet and Wallet to Bank: the BCEAO is shaking up the rules of the game

The generalization of the PI-SPI platform, as of November 2, marks a turning point in money transfers between banks and electronic money services. If the reform promises greater fluidity and free access for users, it also risks reducing an important source of income for financial institutions and Mobile Money operators. A change which is already raising questions about its practical consequences.

“I didn’t understand anything. I received the message two days ago and I was told that the measure will be effective in a few days. To help users, it would have been more relevant to take the time to explain to them what will change. Getting up one day and sending a message like that, at the end of the month, is not easy,” laments a customer of a local bank.

Another user regrets the simplicity of the system to which he had become accustomed: “I had become comfortable with my Bank to Wallet. It was child’s play: in just a few clicks, the account was good. » Two reactions which reflect the questions raised by this change.

Like them, many users received a notification announcing the suspension, from Monday, November 2, of the Bank to Wallet and Wallet to Bank services, which respectively allow money to be transferred from a bank account to an electronic wallet and vice versa.

As a replacement, establishments invite their customers to use PI-SPI, the instant and interoperable payment platform of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). Behind this change in interface is a deeper transformation of the payments ecosystem in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Launched on September 30, 2025, PI-SPI must now become the essential gateway for interoperable electronic money transactions in the eight countries of the Union.

The reform has clear benefits for consumers. For national transfers, operations sending an amount less than or equal to 8,000 FCFA per day, per user and per participant, become free, without limitation on the number of operations. According to data communicated by the Bceao, this threshold covers approximately 75% of electronic money transactions in the Union. Reception also remains free, with no ceiling. Cross-border transfers will benefit from the same conditions from June 1, 2027.

But this pricing policy has another side, less visible to the general public: its impact on the income of electronic money establishments and Mobile Money operators. Commissions levied on transfers and fees associated with withdrawal operations have long constituted an important source of remuneration for these actors. The generalization of free access to a large proportion of small transfers therefore risks reducing their revenues in a particularly important segment of their activity.

For banks and operators, the challenge is now to find new growth drivers. “Making this segment free, then compulsory, removes any direct profitability from the connection itself. Connecting to PI-SPI has become a compliance cost, not an investment that repays itself,” analyzes Youssou Koanda, doctor of economic sciences, who has more than ten years of experience within the World Bank group and various United Nations institutions in an article published by Ecofin.

According to him, establishments will gradually have to move beyond the model based on transfer commissions to develop value-added services: credit, micro-insurance, scheduled savings or even cash management solutions for businesses. The reform could thus accelerate the restructuring of the electronic money market.

According to him, it seems vital “to explain to users”. Because he says, for the customer who simply wants to top up their Mobile Money wallet from their bank account or repatriate their money to their bank, the reform should not result in a break in service or a succession of incomprehensible manipulations. Otherwise, an infrastructure designed to simplify transactions risks, initially, sowing confusion among those for whom it is intended. Having taken an interest in the instructions, Mr. Tall immediately sees a clear difference. “Nothing to do with the few clicks of the wallets that we had until now,” he says.

Breaking away from traditional wallets

In fact, to use the new platform you take several steps. To get started, you must download or update your bank’s mobile application. To activate the service, you must then search for the PI-SPI or instant payment section in the application and follow the instructions. When using it for the first time, the user must create an alias.

This is an identifier associated with their account, which can be their telephone number or a payment address generated by the platform. To send money, once the alias is activated, you must select the send or transfer function. Enter the beneficiary identifier (telephone number, alias or QR Code), indicate the amount and possibly the reason for the transfer.

The app displays the beneficiary’s information. You must check them before confirming the operation and entering the requested validation code. To receive a transfer, you must communicate your alias to the sender or share your PI-SPI QR Code. The money is directly credited to the associated account. Important information, “PI-SPI transfers are instantaneous and irrevocable”.

Oumar FEDIOR