(Business in Cameroon) - The Interbank Monetary Group of Central Africa (Gimac) processed over 7.3 million electronic currency transactions in 2022.  The overall volume of these transactions exceeded CFA224.1 billion, according to a report published on November 7, 2023, by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

This amount increased tenfold compared to 2020 when interoperable transactions accounted for 1.1 million operations amounting to CFA21.08 billion, BEAC indicated. "Interoperability through Gimac has progressed, enabling citizens from all CEMAC countries to send and receive funds through electronic money operations, as well as to pay for goods and services," the central bank explained. In 2022, Gimac processed 6.06 million money transfer operations totaling CFA133.8 billion, representing nearly 60% of the total transaction value handled.

The majority of these transactions were conducted through Mobile Money. Over the year under review, “73% of Gimac transactions were carried out via Mobile Money. The rest consisted of delegated cards (11%) and interconnected cards (16%). In terms of value, these proportions are 55% for Mobile Money and 45% for cards," the Beac report read. Interbank withdrawals (via GimacPay) reached 1.3 million transactions amounting to CFA96.1 billion.

The rise in transaction volume can be attributed to the launch of the GimacPay platform in 2020. This platform serves as an integrated system managing both card transactions and merging Mobile Money transactions among different mobile network operators in CEMAC, banks, and microfinance institutions utilizing a mobile wallet connected to bank accounts. As of December 31, 2022, the GimacPay network counted 89 participants, including 53 banks, 10 microfinance institutions, 11 Mobile Money operators, one Treasury, and 14 aggregators.

With a capital of CFA3.5 billion, 99% owned by BEAC, Gimac's mission involves promoting, providing, supervising, and regulating electronic payment services. However, despite being headquartered in the central services of the central bank in Yaoundé, Gimac remains a small player in electronic money transaction processing, holding a market share of barely 1% in a market evaluated at CFA23,332 billion in 2022 according to BEAC.