Fintech & digital payments rules in Niger (2026)

The BCEAO, the common central bank of the eight WAEMU states (Niger included), is the sole licensing and supervisory authority for payment institutions and electronic money issuers; licences are valid across the entire UEMOA zone.

Instruction N°001-01-2024 (issued 23 January 2024) makes a BCEAO licence mandatory for payment service providers, with reinforced governance, cybersecurity, risk-management and consumer-protection requirements and capital thresholds of roughly 10–100 million CFA francs.

Existing operators were given a transition period to regularize; after several extensions the BCEAO set a final deadline of 31 August 2025 for fintechs to obtain a licence to operate legally in the union.

A separate Electronic Money Institution licence governs mobile money and e-wallets; EMIs must segregate (ring-fence) customer funds and may not extend credit or pay interest on balances.

The Nigerien fintech iFutur received BCEAO approval as a Payment Institution on 6 May 2025 (ref. EP.NG.001/2025), authorizing it to offer digital payments across the UEMOA; as of late May 2025 Niger had one licensed provider.

The BCEAO launched the interoperable instant-payment platform PI-SPI on 30 September 2025, enabling 24/7 transfers across banks, fintechs, mobile-money operators and microfinance institutions union-wide; all institutions must connect by 30 June 2026.