Are you wondering about FinTech regulation in French-speaking Africa, and more specifically about your obligations ?
Then you’ve come to the right place! Indeed, as a fintech in French-speaking AfricaIn order to comply with current legislation, you need to meet certain regulatory obligations on a day-to-day basis. What are these obligations? In this article, we provide you with a list of main regulatory obligations in 3 key points:
1. Fintechs in French-speaking Africa require prior authorization
Indeed, the fintech regulation in French-speaking Africa in some cases requiresobtain prior authorization to practice. The prior authorizations required will depend on the service fintechs wish to provide.
You don’t know which plan applies to your situation? We invite you to read our article on authorizations applicable to fintechs,
If in doubt, we recommend that you seek formal authorization or advice. It is therefore necessary to solicit regulatory authorities for the implementation of all business models aimed at technological innovation in financial services.
2. The main regulatory obligations of fintechs concern 4 major areas
In addition to these prior authorizations fintech regulation in French-speaking Africa concerns four major areas. In fact, fintechs must comply with regional and national regulations on :
- from cybersecurity You need to protect your customers’ data, as well as your own infrastructure, against cyber-attacks. So make sure you implement appropriate security measures to protect your data, and those of your customers.
- from personal data protection You must inform your customers about how you use their data, and obtain their consent before collecting it.
- of fight against cybercrime. So you need to put measures in place to detect and prevent online fraud. So be sure to develop clear policies and procedures for dealing with cybercrime incidents.
- Finally, they must comply with current legislation on the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. How to combat money laundering? You need to set up procedures to verify the identity of your customers, and monitor suspicious transactions.
3. Customer regulation of fintech in French-speaking Africa
Finally, in the course of their activities fintech in French-speaking Africa also have operational obligations relating to customer management. In particular, you must verify the identity of your customers by presenting a valid official document prior to any transaction. In addition, identification documents must be archived. Promoters are also required to comply with customer due diligence obligations.
Although this list is not exhaustive, it does allow fintech start-ups start-ups to understand the initial regulatory obligations they may face.
Good to know The regulation of fintechs in French-speaking Africa is about to change. Indeed, regulatory work is underway at jurisdictional level, to include fintech within the scope of existing regulations, in order to complete the regulatory corpus. In addition, the adoption of specific legislation for certain activities (such as participative loan financing, and the issuance and distribution of central bank digital money) is underway.
🚨The items listed above do not constitute legal advice. For legal advice on your situation or project, we recommend that you contact a lawyer.
Author information: this article was written by Kadder Ismaël TOURE, a specialist in participatory finance. The opinions expressed in this article are based on the author’s own research.
For further information : hello@africanlegalfactory.com
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