Regulatory Alerts2021-03-29
BCEAO Instruction No. 001-03-2021 on Supervision of Financial Market Infrastructures, Payment Means and Services
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) issued Instruction No. 001-03-2021 to establish comprehensive supervision procedures for financial market infrastructures, payment means issuers, and payment service providers across WAEMU member states. The directive mandates systematic classification of infrastructures as systemically important or non-systemic, requiring regular self-assessments against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMIs) and strict risk management, reporting, and corrective compliance frameworks. It further empowers the BCEAO to enforce timely information disclosure, impose corrective measures and sanctions for non-compliance, and publish public warnings to safeguard transaction efficiency and security.