COSUMAF has set out plans for closer engagement with fintech companies, blockchain experiments and stronger supervision in its 2026 priorities for Central Africa’s financial market. For businesses in Cameroon, the programme signals support for innovation alongside greater attention to regulatory compliance—not a single licensing framework covering every fintech activity. (cosumaf.org)
What does COSUMAF oversee in Cameroon’s fintech sector?
The Commission de Surveillance du Marché Financier de l’Afrique Centrale, or COSUMAF, regulates the regional financial market. Its responsibilities include protecting savings invested in financial instruments, ensuring investors receive information and overseeing market operations. Its relevance to a fintech business therefore depends on the financial services that business provides, rather than its use of technology alone. (cosumaf.org)
Payments operate under a separate regional framework. The CEMAC regulation of December 21, 2018, establishes conditions for providing and supervising payment services, including obligations affecting providers, technical partners and distributors. BEAC sets technical and functional requirements, while COBAC has prudential and supervisory responsibilities for payment institutions. COSUMAF should therefore not be described as the sole regulator of mobile money or payment fintechs in Cameroon. (beac.int)
That distinction matters for companies combining investment and payment functions. The practical implication is that they must assess each activity separately: offering an investment service and processing the associated payment are not automatically the same regulatory undertaking. (cosumaf.org)
Fintech dialogue and blockchain testing on the agenda
COSUMAF’s published programme identifies three initiatives relevant to financial technology businesses:
A dedicated online space: A channel for fintech operators to discuss projects and the applicable legal framework with the authority.
Blockchain proofs of concept: Tests intended to evaluate the technology’s potential contribution to CEMAC capital markets.
Educational guidance: Materials explaining tools and concepts such as robo-advisers, blockchain and initial coin offerings. (cosumaf.org)
These are programme commitments, not evidence that every initiative is already operational. The document also targets investment-based crowdfunding, with regulatory work and ecosystem support intended to help bring platforms into the regional market. (cosumaf.org)
Digital assets require careful verification
COSUMAF’s September 2025 regulatory bulletin highlighted a gap between the existence of a digital-asset framework and actual authorizations. It stated that, although the rules provided for digital-asset service providers, no approvals had been issued since 2023. That statement describes the position reported in that publication; it should not be treated as confirmation of licensing status in October 2026. (cosumaf.org)
For Cameroon’s fintech operators and prospective customers, the distinction is consequential. Recognition of a service category does not establish that a particular company has permission to operate. Any claim of authorization needs current verification rather than reliance on the framework’s existence. (cosumaf.org)
Alongside innovation, COSUMAF’s 2026 programme calls for risk-based controls, cybersecurity support and stronger anti-money-laundering supervision. The next development to watch is implementation: published guidance, functioning engagement channels and identifiable authorisation decisions will matter more to businesses than broad commitments alone. (cosumaf.org)
