Old CFA coins exchangeable free of charge for nine months in CEMAC
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Gabonreview
Old 1, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 CFA franc coins will lose legal tender status in the CEMAC region from 1 November 2026, but can be exchanged free of charge for nine months. Rodrigue Bissiélou, the Bank of Central African States’ national director in Gabon, outlined the arrangements at a press conference in Libreville on 29 October, Gabon Review reports.
The old 1, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 500 CFA franc coins can be exchanged free of charge for nine months after they are withdrawn from circulation in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), the Bank of Central African States’ (BEAC) national director in Gabon, Rodrigue Bissiélou, announced in Libreville on 29 October. The coins, minted between 1958 and 1985, will lose their legal tender status and discharging power on 1 November 2026, according to the BEAC.
The BEAC will send awareness teams to provinces, departments and villages to inform the public. The institution says demonetisation aims to rationalise cash circulation, reduce the coexistence of several generations of coins and strengthen monetary security. It also denied that the old coins would be replaced by low-denomination banknotes, according to Gabon Review.
The measure was approved on 7 October 2026 by the Ministerial Committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC), which coordinates the monetary policy of CEMAC countries. It follows the announcement of the withdrawal of old CEMAC coins from legal tender, published on 9 October.
