Investing abroad from the CFA franc zone: BCEAO and BEAC rules

Two currency zones, two rulebooks

The CFA franc is used in two separate monetary unions, and each has its own exchange regulation:

• WAEMU (UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, whose central bank is the BCEAO. The text is Regulation No. 06/2024/CM/UEMOA on the external financial relations of WAEMU member states, signed in Bamako on 20 December 2024. It took effect on the date of its signature and replaces earlier provisions on the same subject, notably Regulation No. 09/2010/CM/UEMOA of 1 October 2010. The BCEAO publishes it on its website.
• CEMAC: the Central African zone, whose central bank is the BEAC. The text is Regulation No. 02/18/CEMAC/UMAC/CM on foreign exchange regulation in CEMAC, adopted in Yaoundé on 21 December 2018 and in force since 1 March 2019, together with BEAC Instruction No. 003/GR/2020 of 5 October 2020 on direct and portfolio investments with foreign countries. The BEAC publishes both.

Both texts are in French (the CEMAC one says the French version prevails), so the quotations below are our translations. This guide reports what the texts say, not whether a given broker, app or transfer is allowed for you: the bank that makes your transfer applies them.

WAEMU: what Regulation 06/2024 says

Inside the union. “Capital movements between WAEMU member states are free and without any restriction”, without prejudice to the rules against money laundering and terrorist financing (Article 3).

Who carries out transfers. Foreign exchange operations, capital movements and settlements between a WAEMU state and a non-member state “can only be carried out through the BCEAO, the postal administration or office, an authorised intermediary or a licensed bureau de change” (Article 4). Authorised intermediaries are banks in a WAEMU state approved for this role by the Minister of Finance after the BCEAO’s assent.

Investing outside WAEMU. The regulation counts a holding below 10% of a company’s capital as a portfolio investment and a stake of at least 10% as a direct investment. For a resident investing in a state outside WAEMU, Article 12 says:

• any investment operation other than loans, guarantees and acquisitions of claims “is subject to the prior authorisation of the Minister of Finance”;
• the investment “must be financed to the extent of at least 75% by a loan or any other form of resources raised abroad”;
• it must be domiciled with an authorised intermediary, and you apply by letter (model in Annex VI) naming that intermediary and the foreign bank chosen for the settlement;
• purchases of foreign securities whose issue or sale in WAEMU member states has been authorised by the AMF-UMOA, the regional market regulator, are exempt from prior authorisation, but Article 17 says they too must be at least 75% financed by a loan or other resources raised abroad.

When you sell. Selling an investment held outside WAEMU must be declared to the Ministry of Finance and the BCEAO. Reinvesting the proceeds abroad needs the Minister’s prior authorisation; otherwise “the proceeds of the liquidation must be repatriated in full to the Union” through an authorised intermediary, within a period set by the BCEAO (Article 12).

Accounts abroad. “The opening by residents of foreign-currency accounts at home or of accounts abroad is subject to the prior authorisation of the Minister of Finance, after the assent of the BCEAO”, under conditions set in an annex to the regulation (Article 7).

Foreign-currency income. Residents must sell to an authorised intermediary all income or proceeds in foreign currency received outside WAEMU or paid by a non-resident (Article 5).

Offers aimed at residents. Soliciting residents to deposit funds abroad, and advertising in WAEMU publications for placing funds abroad, need the BCEAO’s prior authorisation (Article 17).

Who is a resident. Among others, people whose predominant centre of economic interest is in a WAEMU member state, and national civil servants posted abroad.

CEMAC: what Regulation 02/18 and Instruction 003/2020 say

The principle. “Capital operations are free, unless this Regulation provides otherwise” (Article 5), and “direct and portfolio investments with other countries are free” (Article 116). Credit institutions carry out these transactions for their clients under conditions set by a BEAC instruction (Article 117), and settlements with other countries are made “exclusively through credit institutions” (Article 30).

Buying securities abroad. Under Article 136, outward portfolio investments above a threshold set by a BEAC instruction need the BEAC’s prior authorisation; smaller ones are declared 30 days in advance. Instruction 003/GR/2020 sets the threshold:

• “Outgoing portfolio investments amounting to less than CFAF 20 million” per economic agent and per year are free, subject to a prior declaration to the Central Bank and the Ministry in charge of money and credit at least 30 days before the operation (Article 24);
• “Outgoing portfolio investments of more than CFAF 20 million are subject to prior authorisation by the Central Bank” (Article 25). The instruction gives the BEAC 60 working days from receipt of a complete file to decide; without a decision by then, “the authorisation is deemed to be granted” (Article 26);
• the transfer file includes the BEAC’s authorisation, and to close it you provide a document attesting that you own the security (Article 29).

A holding below 10% of a company’s capital is a portfolio investment; stakes of at least 10% and real estate are direct investments, which need the BEAC’s prior authorisation (Articles 3 and 8).

Accounts abroad. “Accounts of resident natural persons opened abroad are declared to the Central Bank” (Article 42). Resident legal persons other than credit institutions may not open a foreign-currency account outside CEMAC unless the BEAC authorises it (Article 41). Opening a foreign-currency account inside CEMAC for a resident “is not authorised”, although the BEAC may authorise a resident legal person to do so (Article 43).

Cards and other electronic payments. “The use outside CEMAC of electronic payment instruments is restricted to current transactions within the limits of the thresholds provided for by this Regulation” (Article 34). The regulation defines current transactions as flows of goods, services and primary and secondary income.

Foreign-currency income. Residents sell to their bank the income they receive in foreign currency abroad or from a non-resident (Article 37).

Who is a resident. A person whose habitual residence or predominant centre of economic interest is in CEMAC, including someone who stays more than a year in a CEMAC country, even with interruptions.

Questions to ask your bank first

1. Is what I want to do a portfolio investment, a direct investment or a current transaction, and which authorisation or declaration does it need?
2. In WAEMU: do I need the Minister of Finance’s authorisation, how does the 75% rule apply to me, and has the AMF-UMOA authorised this security?
3. In CEMAC: am I below CFAF 20 million a year, is that figure still current, and who files the declaration?
4. May I open an account abroad, or must I declare one I already hold?
5. What must I declare, or bring back, when I sell?
6. Which documents do you need?

Limits of this guide

Both regulations leave details to instructions, circular letters and annexes that change over time, and in WAEMU each member state’s minister of finance grants the authorisations for investments and accounts abroad. We quote only the documents the BCEAO and the BEAC publish, as we read them on 28 October 2026, and have not reviewed every instruction issued under them. Nothing here is legal advice; if your bank’s answer differs, ask which text it relies on.