The financial markets regulator of CEMAC member states (Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Gabon and Congo Brazzaville) has banned banks, microfinance institutions and payment service providers from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions. The following key points should be noted in the decision:
🔸Prohibition of holding and subscribing to cryptocurrencies: Subject institutions (banks, microfinance establishments and payment service providers) as well as their technical partners are not authorized to subscribe to or hold cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies of any kind for themselves or on behalf of third parties.
🔸Prohibition of transactions linked to cryptocurrencies: Subject establishments and their technical partners are prohibited from exchanging, converting, settling or hedging transactions linked to cryptocurrencies or having a link with them in currencies or CFA francs.
🔸Cryptocurrencies as a means of valuation: the treatment of cryptocurrencies or cryptoassets as a means of valuing the assets, liabilities or off-balance sheet items of reporting institutions is prohibited.
🔸Acceptable Currency for Accounts: In accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Plan for credit and microfinance institutions, the CFA franc will be the only acceptable currency for accounts maintained by reporting institutions. Other foreign currency accounts are held exclusively in conventional currencies issued by central banks.
🔸Identification and Reporting of Cryptocurrency Transactions: Reporting institutions are required to identify transactions made or rejected in connection with cryptocurrencies, including the ordering customer, beneficiaries, amounts, currency of the transaction, cryptocurrency counterparty, and purpose of the transaction. A detailed monthly report of these operations must be communicated to the General Secretariat of COBAC and to the Central Bank.
🔸Implementation of measures to identify transactions in cryptocurrencies: Subject establishments are required to take all appropriate measures and implement procedures, as well as internal control measures, so that their information systems are able to identify transactions linked to cryptocurrencies at any time in order to implement the measures taken by the regulatory and supervisory authorities and the Central Bank.
