West Africa is home to some of the world's most dynamic mobile money markets. From Wave's disruption of the Senegalese market to MTN MoMo's dominance in Ghana, the region has over 180 million registered mobile money accounts generating hundreds of billions of dollars in annual transaction volume. Yet a fundamental limitation persists: sending money between different mobile money networks - whether across operators within the same country or between countries - remains far more difficult than it should be.
Interoperability - the ability for a user on one mobile money network to seamlessly send funds to a user on another network - is widely recognized as the key enabler for the next phase of mobile money growth. Regulators, industry bodies and operators across West Africa are working on various interoperability initiatives, but progress has been uneven and the path to full interoperability remains complex.
Why Interoperability Matters
Without interoperability, mobile money networks function as closed-loop systems. A user with an Orange Money account in Senegal cannot directly send money to a Wave user in the same country without cashing out and using an alternative channel. This creates several problems:
- Reduced utility: Users must maintain accounts on multiple networks to transact with different people, creating friction and reducing overall usage.
- Artificial market segmentation: Operators compete on network effects (who else uses their service) rather than service quality, creating switching costs that harm consumers.
- Limited cross-border flows: Intra-African trade and remittances are constrained by the inability to move money between networks across borders efficiently.
- Ecosystem limitation: Merchants, billers and businesses must integrate separately with each network, increasing costs and complexity.
The GSMA estimates that achieving full mobile money interoperability in sub-Saharan Africa could increase transaction volumes by 25-40% and bring millions of additional users into the digital payment ecosystem by reducing friction and increasing network utility.
The WAEMU Zone: BCEAO-Mandated Interoperability
The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), comprising eight francophone countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo), shares a common central bank - the Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) - and a common currency (the West African CFA franc, XOF).
The BCEAO has been the most assertive regulator in West Africa regarding mobile money interoperability. Key regulatory actions include:
The 2015 Interoperability Directive
In 2015, the BCEAO issued instructions mandating that all electronic money issuers in the WAEMU zone must achieve interoperability. This directive established the principle that mobile money should function like the banking system - where any account holder can send to any other account holder regardless of institution.
GIM-UEMOA (Groupement Interbancaire Monetique)
GIM-UEMOA, the WAEMU zone's interbank payment switch, was designated to play a central role in mobile money interoperability. Originally built to process card transactions and interbank transfers across the eight WAEMU countries, GIM-UEMOA has been expanding its mandate to include mobile money switching.
Implementation Challenges
Despite the regulatory mandate, implementation has been slower than anticipated. Challenges include:
- Operator resistance: Dominant operators (particularly Orange Money in francophone West Africa) have less incentive to enable interoperability when their market position benefits from closed-loop dynamics.
- Technical standards: Agreeing on common messaging formats, settlement rules and dispute resolution mechanisms across diverse operator systems has proven complex.
- Pricing disagreements: Determining interchange fees (how much the sending operator pays the receiving operator) has been contentious.
- KYC harmonization: Verifying account holders across systems with different KYC standards creates compliance challenges.
Ghana: GhIPSS and Mobile Money Interoperability
Ghana provides perhaps the most successful example of mobile money interoperability in West Africa. The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) implemented mobile money interoperability in 2018, enabling real-time transfers between MTN MoMo, Vodafone Cash and AirtelTigo Money wallets.
How GhIPSS Works
The system operates through GhIPSS's National Electronic Payment Switch (GhLink), which acts as a central hub connecting all mobile money operators. When a user sends money from MTN MoMo to a Vodafone Cash wallet:
- The sending operator (MTN) debits the sender's wallet.
- MTN routes the transaction through GhIPSS.
- GhIPSS validates the transaction and routes it to the receiving operator (Vodafone).
- Vodafone credits the recipient's wallet in real-time.
- Settlement between operators occurs at scheduled intervals through GhIPSS.
Impact
Ghana's interoperability implementation has been widely regarded as successful. Key outcomes include:
- Millions of inter-network transactions processed monthly.
- Reduced customer friction - users no longer need multiple wallets for different recipients.
- Enabled bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank transfers through the same switch.
- Created a foundation for merchant payment interoperability (Ghana Universal QR Code).
However, Ghana's success was enabled by specific conditions: a strong central bank directive (Bank of Ghana), a pre-existing interbank switch (GhIPSS) with technical capacity and a relatively concentrated market with only three major operators.
Nigeria: NIBSS and the Mobile Money Challenge
Nigeria's interoperability landscape is unique because mobile money itself is a relatively recent development in the country. The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) provides interbank payment switching (via NIP - NIBSS Instant Payment), but mobile money integration into this system has been complex.
The Mobile Money Licensing Evolution
Nigeria's mobile money market was initially limited by regulations that excluded telcos from holding mobile money licenses. This changed in 2022 when the CBN granted Payment Service Bank (PSB) licenses to MTN (via MoMo PSB) and Airtel (via SmartCash PSB). However, OPay and PalmPay (fintech-led mobile money services) had already established dominant positions.
Current State
NIBSS NIP enables real-time transfers between bank accounts and between banks and licensed fintech operators (including mobile money). However, full interoperability between all mobile money services (OPay, PalmPay, MTN MoMo PSB, etc.) through a single switch remains a work in progress. Many transfers between these services still route through the banking system rather than a dedicated mobile money switch.
PAPSS: Pan-African Payment and Settlement System
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), launched by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in January 2022, represents the most ambitious attempt at cross-border payment interoperability on the continent.
Design and Purpose
PAPSS enables instant cross-border payments in local currencies between participating African countries. Key features:
- Pre-funded model: Central banks pre-fund settlement accounts in PAPSS, enabling instant clearing without waiting for traditional correspondent banking settlement.
- Local currency settlement: Transactions settle in local currencies, reducing the need for USD intermediation in intra-African trade.
- Multi-channel: Designed to support bank transfers, mobile money and card transactions.
- Net settlement: Positions between countries are netted and settled periodically, reducing liquidity requirements.
Current Status
As of early 2026, PAPSS has been operationalized in several West African countries and is expanding across the continent. However, volume remains modest relative to the total cross-border payment flows. Challenges include:
- Onboarding banks and mobile money operators in each country.
- Building liquidity in less-traded currency pairs.
- Integrating with domestic switches (GhIPSS, NIBSS, etc.) for last-mile delivery.
- Scaling transaction volumes to achieve network effects.
Cross-Border Corridors: Current State
Despite PAPSS and various bilateral agreements, cross-border mobile money transfers in West Africa remain limited. Key corridors and their current status:
| Corridor | Volume Estimate | Primary Channels | Interoperability Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana - Nigeria | High | Bank transfers, remittance apps, informal | Limited (PAPSS in progress) |
| Senegal - Ivory Coast | Medium-High | Orange Money (shared network), Wave | Partial (same operator cross-border) |
| Senegal - Mali | Medium | Orange Money, Wave | Partial (WAEMU zone, same currency) |
| Ghana - Burkina Faso | Medium | MTN MoMo (limited), remittance services | Very limited |
| Nigeria - Cameroon | Medium | Bank transfers, informal channels | Very limited |
The Role of API Providers
In the absence of full regulatory-driven interoperability, API providers play a crucial bridging role. By maintaining direct integrations with multiple mobile money operators across multiple countries, API aggregators effectively create a layer of interoperability that the infrastructure does not natively provide.
An API provider that integrates with MTN MoMo in Ghana, Orange Money in Senegal and OPay in Nigeria can enable a business to move money across all three networks through a single integration - even though no regulatory interoperability switch connects these services directly.
This approach has limitations (each integration must be maintained separately, settlement requires separate float in each market), but it provides practical cross-border and cross-network payment capability while the regulatory infrastructure catches up.
What Comes Next
Several developments suggest that West African mobile money interoperability will accelerate in the coming years:
- BCEAO enforcement: The BCEAO is expected to tighten enforcement of its interoperability mandate in the WAEMU zone, with potential penalties for non-compliant operators.
- PAPSS scaling: As PAPSS onboards more institutions and builds volume, cross-border flows will increasingly route through formal, instant channels.
- Competitive pressure: Wave's success in Senegal demonstrated that interoperability (Wave works seamlessly across networks) can be a competitive advantage, pressuring other operators to follow.
- AfCFTA demand: The African Continental Free Trade Area creates demand for efficient cross-border payment infrastructure to support growing intra-African trade.
- Stablecoin alternatives: The availability of stablecoin rails creates competitive pressure on traditional cross-border systems - if interoperability remains slow, businesses will route through crypto rails instead.
Conclusion
Mobile money interoperability in West Africa is progressing, but unevenly. Ghana demonstrates that regulatory-driven interoperability can work effectively when conditions align. The WAEMU zone has the regulatory framework but faces implementation challenges. Nigeria is building from a more complex starting point with multiple operator types and a dominant banking infrastructure.
For businesses operating across West African markets today, the practical reality is that interoperability is not yet reliable enough to depend on for critical payment flows. API aggregation - connecting to each operator and each market individually - remains the pragmatic approach for achieving cross-network and cross-border payment coverage.
The question is not whether full interoperability will arrive, but when - and whether it will be regulatory switches, commercial API providers, or stablecoin rails that get there first.
Sources: BCEAO Annual Reports, GhIPSS Transaction Data, GSMA State of the Industry Report 2024, PAPSS Official Communications, Bank of Ghana Payment Systems Reports, NIBSS Annual Reports, AfCFTA Secretariat.