The Central Bank of the Congo (BCC) and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) signed a cooperation agreement on Feb. 28, 2026, in Kinshasa. The signing took place on the sidelines of the Central Africa sub-regional committee meetings of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB).

The agreement aims to “strengthen cooperation in banking regulation, payment systems, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, cybersecurity, financial inclusion and monetary stability,” BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui said.

BEAC is the common central bank for the six CEMAC countries: Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and Chad. These countries share the Central African CFA franc. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) uses its own currency, the Congolese franc, and is not a member of this monetary union, but maintains significant trade and financial ties with several countries in the bloc.

“This protocol marks a further step toward deeper monetary and financial integration in the sub-region,” the BCC said, without providing details. Bilateral agreements of this kind typically shift cooperation from a continental coordination framework to more operational arrangements, such as designated contact points, structured information-sharing and technical projects that can be implemented more quickly.

On the prudential front, the text opens the door to greater information-sharing between supervisors and closer alignment of risk management practices. As international compliance standards tighten and correspondent banks increase scrutiny, such coordination could reduce the risk of regulatory fragmentation.

The payment systems component has strategic implications. In recent years, BEAC has been modernizing payment infrastructure within CEMAC. Closer cooperation with the BCC could eventually facilitate cross-border payment interoperability, as many transactions are still routed through correspondents outside the sub-region, often at high cost and with delays. For commercial banks exposed to DRC–CEMAC flows, more efficient regional clearing would improve cost and processing efficiency.

Common practice

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing are another key area. The DRC is among jurisdictions under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as is Cameroon in the Feb. 13, 2026 update. In this context, stronger information-sharing and alignment of practices could help reassure correspondent banks and investors, reducing the risk that transactions are delayed, rejected or made more expensive due to compliance concerns.

In cybersecurity, the cooperation comes as digital threats targeting financial infrastructure intensify. Harmonized standards, shared alerts and coordinated incident response are becoming core elements of financial stability.

Finally, the protocol refers to financial inclusion and monetary stability. In the DRC, where dollarization remains high and authorities are seeking to strengthen the use of the Congolese franc, exchanges with BEAC could help shape thinking on policy tools to modernize financial services and reinforce macro-financial stability.

Such memorandums of understanding are common across Africa. Central banks regularly use them to set out terms for technical cooperation and capacity-building. For now, the BCC-BEAC agreement remains a broad framework. Its impact will depend on how it is implemented, including the timeline, priority projects, monitoring mechanisms and measurable outcomes.

Pierre Mukoko