Manual currency exchange in Benin: J.A. & FILS’ license withdrawn at its own request

The establishment J.A. & FILS is no longer authorized to conduct manual currency exchange activities in Benin. An order signed in Cotonou on 30 July 2026 by the Deputy Minister in charge of Finance and Microfinance, Nicolas YENOUSSI, withdraws the license held by the establishment and removes it from the list of authorized manual currency exchangers.

J.A. & FILS had obtained its license on 31 August 2012. The new order terminates this authorization and stipulates that the withdrawal takes effect from the date of its signature, with publication in the Official Journal.

The procedure was initiated at the establishment’s request. The document refers to a letter dated 6 May 2026 in which the director of J.A. & FILS requested the withdrawal of the license, followed by correspondence dated 10 June 2026 from the National Directorate of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) concerning this withdrawal.

The order imposes no sanctions and explicitly links the withdrawal to the request made by the establishment. Its practical consequence is immediate: since 30 July, J.A. & FILS can no longer legally offer manual currency exchange operations on Beninese territory under the license granted in 2012.

An activity subject to licensing

Manual currency exchange is regulated at the level of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. BCEAO Instruction No. 07/07/2025/RFE reserves this activity for legal entities and subjects it to a license from the Minister in charge of Finance, following the Central Bank’s favorable opinion.

This framework complements the regulation No. 06/2024/CM/UEMOA of 20 December 2024 concerning the external financial relations of the member states of the Union. It sets the rules applicable to currency exchange operations and the authorized actors to carry them out.