The provision of payment services within the territory of Cameroon as one of the CEMAC States is subject to the authorisation of the National Monetary Authority of Cameroon, issued after receiving the assent of the Banking Commission.
The authorisation order specifies the payment service(s) that the service provider is authorised to provide.
The exercise of the functions of manager or auditor of a payment service provider in Cameroon is subject to approval by the Monetary Authority, issued after consultation with the Banking Commission.
The conditions and procedures for granting authorisation to payment service providers in Cameroon, their managers and auditors are those laid down, subject to the provisions of regulation no. 04/18/CEMAC/UMAC/COBAC and subsequent texts.
The Banking Commission may only issue a favourable opinion with a view to the authorisation of a payment service provider if the operating conditions laid down in the regulations are met.
The Banking Commission shall ensure that there is consistency between the payment services for which authorisation is sought, the proposed strategy, the programme of activities that the applicant plans to implement and the resources envisaged, in particular the adequacy of the capital envisaged in relation to the risk profile to determine the institution’s ability to comply with prudential standards at inception and thereafter.
Where the consistency referred to in the previous paragraph is not established, the Banking Commission may:
– Require, within a time limit set by it, the disclosure of the means envisaged by the applicant: or
– Re-qualify the application for authorization on the basis of the business plan submitted by the applicant. In this case, the applicant is informed by letter that he has one month in which to give his approval. If no reply is received within this period, the application is deemed to have been rejected.
If the measures provided for in the previous paragraph are not applied, or if the applicant does not accept the reclassification, the Banking Commission will issue an unfavorable opinion.
In the case of payment institutions, COBAC shall ensure in particular that the institution provides evidence of a hive-off account agreement with one or more banks, an insurance contract or a bank guarantee, in accordance with the requirements of Title 9 of the regulations.
For the application of Article 24 of the Regulation, the Banking Commission refers the matter to the Central Bank for its opinion on the compliance of the technical solution envisaged for the provision of each payment service, in particular with regard to;
- Technical and functional standards
- Security and efficiency of information systems
- Quality of transmissions and network access;
- Interoperability of the technical solution, where applicable.
When the provision of a payment service is envisaged via a mobile telephony solution, the BEAC ensures that the institution or its technical partner has an authorisation from the body referred to in Article 19 of the regulation for the use of the technology specific to this service.
From the date of referral, the BEAC has a period of three months to rule and notify its opinion to the COBAC. If no decision is taken by the end of this period, this constitutes a favourable opinion from BEAC. BEAC’s unfavorable reasoned opinion is binding on COBAC.
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