For several years, solutions for electronic payment gradually impose themselves on Benign. The State encourages this revolution through tax measures applied to cash payments from a threshold amount. Banking structures are not left out: most have already developed systems to dematerialize deposit and withdrawal operations.
Electronic payments: towards a cashless economy in Benin?
In Africa, despite the strong inclination of populations (90% according to Soprabanking) for hard cash, electronic payment solutions are making a promising start. According to a McKinsey study, by 2025, Electronic payments expected to increase by 20% in Africa and generate up to $40 billion.
Like several African countries, Benin is not on the sidelines of this technological revolution which affects financial operations. Populations, especially in urban areas, are increasingly adopting electronic payment methods, which facilitate commercial exchanges and save time. Aggregators have quickly positioned themselves, and the State is also working to follow this dynamic, particularly with the service eQuittance of the Public Treasury.
According to data from the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, in 2023, more than 11 millions of mobile transaction customers for an amount exceeding 2 billion FCFAan average of 5.6 million operations daily.
“I don't remember the last time I queued at an agency of the Benin Water Company (Soneb) or the Benin Electric Energy Company (SBEE) to pay a bill. It was a difficult situation, given the slow pace of the wickets. I can say that I am one of the first people to have very quickly adopted online payment solutions to pay my water and electricity bills”confides Janvier, one of the frequent users of electronic payment solutions.
Obstacles to overcome
The system is progressing, but it still has to face certain obstacles to better establish itself. “It’s true that there is growing adoption, but the vast majority of people still prefer cash, because it’s ingrained in their habits,” explain Assan SalamiFull Stack developer and manager of TranXact. He adds that the reluctance of some people to adopt e-payment can be explained by the distrust of payment tools in terms of security.
This distrust is sometimes fueled by technical bugs which discourage users. Eric Codjo, for example, decided to no longer use an aggregator to make online payments after almost making a double payment for the same service, even though his account had already been debited. “Everything returned to normal afterwards, but the inconvenience left me with trauma. It was a lot of money”he says. Despite the bottlenecks, Assan Salami assures that e-payment is necessary and could accelerate the Beninese economy.
Tax measures to encourage e-payment
Since 2011, the General Directorate of Taxes has taken measures to force companies to adopt online payments when the amount exceeds 100,000 FCFA. According to the Director General, Nicolas Yenoussi, a fine of 10% was applied to companies which did not respect this measure. In 2012, the amendment was made but reduced to 5% of the surplus beyond 100,000 FCFA. From 2025, it will be a direct deduction of 1%.
According to Nicolas Yenoussi, this measure aims to strengthen banking and the digitalization of payments to “reduce transport and cash payments”. “Today, the government has developed many digital payment systems. » The adoption of e-payment, in addition to facilitating transactions, makes it possible to strengthen the traceability of operations and fight against tax fraud.
An environment to consolidate
However, for actual flight, a suitable environment is necessary. “Today, are the tools needed to support the e-payment revolution sufficiently available? The government must support the fintechs present to enable them to make these tools accessible. For example, POS terminals (payment terminals) are not yet widely deployed. There is a lack of decentralized mechanisms to facilitate payments”observes Assan Salami.
This gap could soon be filled, as TranXact plans to provide a solution. “We are in the process of launching a service of this type. It’s a colossal market that we want to conquer, but we are also open to competition”concludes the TranXact manager.
