In order to put an end to the shortage of coins which is penalizing commercial transactions in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) is considering putting into circulation a new range of “type 2024” coins.
The announcement was made in a press release issued at the end of the BEAC Board of Directors meeting, held on December 18, 2024. The sub-regional banking institution had not, moreover, provided additional details on the characteristics of this new range which should help resolve the persistent shortage of coins in the community area. A problem that complicates daily transactions and puts pressure on the informal economy.
In Brazzaville, for example, the scarcity of coins, also called “tokens”, is often the cause of disputes in markets between customers and traders. This is also the case in public transport where users and bus and taxi drivers get angry with each other over the lack of “tokens”. Coins of 1, 2, 5, 10 FCFA are refused in shops and taxis in most CEMAC member countries.
It should be noted that in the process of manufacturing coins, the BEAC emphasizes innovations such as size, alloys to be used including new denominations. According to some media, the sizes of these new coins should be larger unlike the range currently in circulation. The other innovation consists in the non-separation of alloys and the use of less noble materials for the composition of the alloys of the new coins, making it possible to combat the trafficking of “tokens”.
In fact, for several years, coins have become increasingly rare in the CEMAC zone, due to the existence of parallel circuits which export them, particularly to Asia, where they are melted down and transformed into jewellery.
To put an end to these fraudulent practices, the BEAC has decided to strengthen the security of these pieces by producing new ranges, made from a raw material that does not correspond to those used in the jewelry industry.
BEAC also intends to make a massive order of coins in an attempt to supply the sub-regional market. It intends to implement a strategy that will force commercial banks to take more coins, since their shortage observed on the market is both the fact that credit institutions and large retailers refuse to take them.
Note that it was in 2024 that new coins were injected into the CEMAC area. These are Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Central Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.
