Orange Money subscribers in Cameroon and those entitled to pay their tax at Divisional Tax Centres can now process payments via their mobile phones.

This is according to the Directorate General of Taxation (DGI) following a deal secured between the country’s government and Orange Cameroon to utilise the Orange Money platform to assist in tax declaration and payment for the 2021 fiscal year.

Orange Cameroon will collect the tax via its platform and pay the money directly into the state treasury.

In line with Cameroon’s 2021 Finance Law, officials plan to recruit the services of MTN Cameroon and state-run Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) to do the same.

This law guides the execution of the state budget and prescribes that the notification and delivery of receipt of payment must be done exclusively by electronic means.

This is to replace manual payments and prevent misappropriation and fraud.

Going forward, no cash payments will be accepted for tax purposes, but taxpayers can still pay via bank transfer.

Cameroon first nurtured the idea of electronic payment of customs duties and taxes, particularly through secure platforms integrating telecommunication companies, in 2019, in a bid to scale up the mobilisation of income.

The Orange mobile money service, Orange Money, was launched in 2012 and according to consulting firm Goodwill Management, 4.5 million Cameroonians use the service.

The company is positioned in second place after its main rival MTN Cameroon, in the provision of mobile money services in the country, according to Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics.