AFI member institution Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) held the Regional Consultation on the Promotion of Banking Activities on 21-23 November 2012 in Dakar, Senegal to promote banking activities and the use of cashless payments within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region.

The event attracted representatives from both the private and public sectors of the WAEMU’s eight member nations (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo), as well as from external partners. Participants aimed to assess the implementation of the Action Plan (2007-2012) and define a new Action Plan (2013-2020) to promote financial inclusion within the WAEMU region.

Those in attendance reflected on three themes:

• Transparency, rationalization and ways to reduce the cost of the financial services;
• Facilitation of access to financial services;
• Promotion of cashless and electronic payments.

Recommendations related to those themes will be taken into account when defining the Action Plan (2013-2020).