The following activities, linked or related to the provision or management of payment methods as defined in Article 12 of Regulation No. 03/16/CEMAC/UMAC/CM, are considered payment services such as:
- Credit institutions as defined by the Convention of January 17, 1992, on the harmonization of banking regulations in the Central African States;
- Microfinance institutions as defined by Regulation No. 01/02/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC/CM of April 13, 2002, concerning the conditions for carrying out and monitoring microfinance activities in the CEMAC region;
- The Public Treasury and postal check services, subject to the specificities related to their status;
- Other approved institutions.
Operating as a payment service provider within the territory of any CEMAC member state is subject to approval by the National Monetary Authority, granted after receiving a favorable opinion from the Banking Commission. The approval decree specifies the payment service(s) the provider is authorized to offer.
Serving as a director or auditor of payment service providers is also subject to approval by the Monetary Authority, granted after receiving a favorable opinion from the Banking Commission.
The conditions and procedures for granting accreditation to payment service providers, their managers, and auditors are those established, subject to the provisions of this regulation or its subsequent texts, by:
- Regulation No. 02/15/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC of March 27, 2015, and its implementing regulations, for credit institutions and payment institutions;
- Regulation No. 01/17/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC of September 27, 2017, and its implementing regulations, for microfinance institutions.
In addition to the conditions set forth in the texts referred to in Article 23 of the regulations, the COBAC may only issue a favorable opinion regarding the authorization of a payment service provider if the operating conditions set forth in these regulations are met.
The COBAC ensures consistency between the payment services for which authorization is sought, the proposed strategy, the activity program that the applicant plans to implement, and the resources envisaged, in particular the adequacy of the planned capital in relation to the risk profile, in order to determine the institution's capacity to comply with prudential standards at the time of establishment and subsequently.
When the consistency referred to in the preceding paragraph is not established, the COBAC may:
- Require, within a period it sets, the strengthening of the resources envisaged by the applicant; or
- Reclassify the application for approval based on the business plan submitted by the applicant. In this case, the applicant is informed by letter that they have one month to accept. Failure to respond within this period constitutes a refusal.
If the measures stipulated in the preceding paragraph are not applied, or if the applicant does not accept the reclassification, the COBAC issues an unfavorable opinion.
For payment institutions, the COBAC verifies, in particular, that the institution provides proof of a segregated account agreement with one or more banks, an insurance contract, or a bank guarantee, all of which comply with the requirements of Title I of this regulation.
The Banking Commission consults the Central Bank to obtain its opinion on the compliance of the proposed technical solution for providing each payment service, particularly with regard to:
- Technical and functional standards;
- Security and efficiency of information systems;
- Quality of transmissions and network access;
- Interoperability of the technical solution, where applicable.
When the provision of a payment service is envisaged via a mobile phone solution, the BEAC ensures that the institution or its technical partner provides proof of authorization from the body referred to in Article 19 of the regulations for the use of the technology specific to this service.
From the date of referral, the BEAC has three months to issue a decision and notify its opinion to the COBAC. The absence of a decision by the end of this period constitutes a favorable opinion from the BEAC. The BEAC's reasoned unfavorable opinion is binding on the COBAC.
The period provided for in the preceding paragraph does not suspend the periods fixed in Article 8 of Regulation No. 02/15/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC and 51 of Regulation No. 01/17/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC.