BEAC targets 30 coins per person in CEMAC by 2030
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Investir au Cameroun
The average number of coins per person in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa rose from 16 to 23 as at 31 May 2026, according to figures presented by BEAC. The central bank plans to reach 30 coins per person by 2030, after putting 265 million coins from the 2024 series into circulation, reports Investir au Cameroun.
The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) plans to raise the average number of coins per person in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) to 30 by 2030, from 23 as at 31 May 2026. The ratio stood at 16 before the 2024 series was introduced, an increase of nearly 44%, according to figures presented by BEAC in Yaoundé on 28 October 2026.
The central bank has injected 265 million coins from the 2024 series into the subregional economy since its launch on 2 April 2025, said Emmanuel Asafor Cho, BEAC’s first deputy national director for Cameroon. Increasing supply is intended to enable the gradual withdrawal of older coins, which have remained in circulation for several decades because of difficulties in supplying small change.
The Ministerial Committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC), which met on 7 October in N’Djamena, demonetised coins from the 1958, 1959, 1971, 1976 and 1985 series. They lost their legal tender status on 1 November in the six CEMAC countries. The measure also aims to limit the risk of counterfeiting and end the coexistence of several generations of coins.
The demonetisation follows the loss of legal tender status for old CEMAC coins, announced for 1 November. It follows the UMAC Ministerial Committee’s decision to withdraw old coins, after BEAC denied that they would be withdrawn immediately, in a statement published on 30 October.
