Free Reads West Africa’s Mobile Money Giants Lose Cash Cow To Strict Fee Cap They Can’t Fight By Staff Reporter  |  October 5, 2026 Banks, fintechs and mobile money operators across West Africa will be forced to route all interoperable electronic money transfers through a single central bank platform from November 2, and they will be allowed to charge no more than 0.8% for transfers above a daily threshold of CFA francs 8 K (~USD 13.70). The rules, published by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) on October 2, mark the most aggressive intervention yet in a mobile money market that processed USD 498 B in transactions across West Africa in 2025, according to GSMA data. They represent a direct challenge to the business models of dominant operators such as Orange Money and Wave, which built their franchises on closed networks and transfer fees of around 1% or more. The BCEAO, which oversees monetary policy for the eight-nation West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), had initially launched the…