UEMOA: Companies can automate their payments on PI-SPI
UEMOA companies can link their management systems to the regional PI-SPI platform to issue, receive, and automate payments. The BCEAO has just approved the first interfaces that meet its technical and security requirements.
On September 16, the Central Bank of West African States announced the approval of interfaces that allow companies in the UEMOA to connect their software to PI-SPI, the regional instant payment platform, to execute and track integrated operations in real time.
The approved interfaces enable the issuance and receipt of payments, the sending of bulk payment requests, the automation of secure payment operations, and the real-time tracking of transactions, according to the BCEAO.
These services can be utilized throughout the UEMOA, regardless of the payment service provider of the payer or the beneficiary. The central bank also noted that participating institutions can develop digital services tailored to the needs of businesses using these interfaces.
PI-SPI was launched on September 30, 2025, to make instant transfers and payments interoperable within the Union. As of June 24, 2026, the BCEAO reported that 80 participants were connected to the platform and that several million people already had access to instant payment services.
On that same date, 74 institutions were conducting real-world testing. The BCEAO had extended the connection deadline for banks, electronic money institutions, and payment institutions to September 30, 2026, and until June 30, 2027, for certain supervised decentralized financial systems.
As of September 16, the BCEAO separately published the list of participants authorized to open PI-SPI services to the public, in addition to the interface approval process for businesses.
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