(Business in Cameroon) - The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) is set to release a new range of coins in 2024, according to internal sources at the central bank. The production process for these new coins has already commenced.

The arrival of a new range of coins aims to alleviate the near-permanent shortage of coins that has plagued the CEMAC region for several years. This scarcity is attributed to the emergence of export networks diverting these coins to an Asian country after their collection from gaming halls and other informal channels. The root cause of this practice lies in the metal used for the coins, which is valued in jewelry-making activities.

To counter this phenomenon, BEAC considered issuing new coins during its 50th-anniversary celebration in November 2022 in N'Djamena, Chad. The bank wanted to use a material that was not sought after. In line with this approach, on March 15, 2023, at the request of its Board of Directors, BEAC secured approval from the Ministerial Committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) to issue new coins in the CEMAC region. "The Ministerial Committee of March 15, 2023, authorized the creation of a new range of coins per the recommendations put forward by BEAC," reads the final statement from the proceedings.

As a reminder, Beac issued a new range of banknotes with enhanced security features on December 15, 2022.