XOF and XAF: a business guide to the CFA franc zones

Two currencies, one peg

The West African CFA franc (XOF) and the Central African CFA franc (XAF) are separate currencies issued by two central banks, the BCEAO and the BEAC. Both are pegged to the euro at the same fixed rate: 655.957 francs per euro.

Who uses which

• →XOF: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
• →XAF: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Despite the shared peg, XOF and XAF are not interchangeable. A payment from Dakar to Douala still involves a conversion.

What the peg means for businesses

Because both francs are fixed to the euro, EUR conversions are predictable, which helps when pricing contracts with European partners. Conversions to USD or USDC still move with the EUR/USD rate.

Holding CFA francs with ElementPay

ElementPay issues bank accounts in both XOF and XAF, alongside 28 other currencies, so businesses can collect and hold CFA francs even ahead of a payout. Mobile money payout rails into specific XOF and XAF markets, including Cameroon, are rolling out — check current coverage before you route a payment to a particular country.

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