As of 1 September 2020 commercial banks and public treasuries in the Central Africa sub-region will have to use the eTransfer digital application to carry out wire transfers.

This is according to Abbas Mahamat Tolli, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the central bank within Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

The eTransfer system is being rolled out after a successful 6-month trial and will replace the existing system based on the transmission of wire transfer request files and electronic mail communication.

Banks, treasuries and other financial entities wanting to initiate wire transfers will be able to submit their request through the central bank’s intranet, to then be processed by BEAC staff.

The eTransfer system enables users to monitor all stages of the transaction and get reports in real time.

“eTransfer ensures the traceability and availability of monitoring information in real-time,” Tolli said.

He added that the launch of eTransfer is part of a wider plan to optimise its dematerialisation processes, the first phase of a broader objective to automate BEAC’s regulatory activities.