Methods of Payment

Importers and exporters use internationally accepted methods of settlement.  Due to pervasive credit risks — even in the banking and public sectors — many U.S. firms exporting to Cameroon insist on irrevocable letters of credit drawn on banks with strong foreign partners.

Cameroon’s payments system is part of the CEMAC system.  The system consists of two parts: clearing centers at the level of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) branches for high-volume, small-value payments and settlement through regional BEAC current accounts for large value payments.  There are currently no sub-regional (for CEMAC countries) clearing organizations. The Central Bank executes transfer orders of account holders on its books within the CEMAC zone and abroad. In 2008, the Central Bank implemented a regional payments system that incorporates electronic bulk payment clearing. Although the BEAC uses the SWIFT network, there are administrative delays in the international transfers it processes, and some banks use alternative routes to transfer funds to and from their correspondent accounts; individuals often avail themselves of services provided by nonbanks, such as Western Union.  For more information about the methods of payment or other trade finance options, please read the Trade Finance Guide.

Banking Systems

BEAC oversees Cameroon’s banking system and is supervised by the French Treasury, which guarantees the convertibility of the local currency at a rate of 655.24 CFA to one Euro.  Cameroon must hold at least 60 percent of its foreign reserves in an account in Paris that is managed by the French Treasury.  The Central African Banking Committee (COBAC), housed in BEAC’s offices in Yaoundé, regulates the banking sector within CEMAC.

According to the IMF, Cameroon’s 19 commercial banks have CFA 5,300 billion (US$9bn) in assets which represents over 27% of Cameroon’s GDP and about 40% of CEMAC’s total banking assets.  BEAC sets benchmark interest rates for the banking institutions and state treasuries. Throughout the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Cameroon’s banking system remained solid.  The regulatory board has restructured a few ailing banks.  The corporate community still complains about stringent prudential regulations, low lending volume, lack of innovative banking products, and poor quality of service.  The banking sector is regulated, but financial institutions tend to suffer from under-performance on local debt and unpaid loans from both commercial and individual debtors.  The presence of an American bank - Citibank - has made financial transactions easier for U.S. companies.

For more information on the banking systemplease read the section Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment of the  Investment Climate Statement.

Foreign Exchange Controls

In late 2016, CEMAC countries began working with the IMF to respond to BEAC’s dwindling reserves and a balance of payments crisis caused by the fall in oil receipts.  A January 2019 IMF report lauded BEAC for its new foreign exchange regulations.  BEAC now requires banks to surrender all foreign currency remittances to the Central Bank and to consolidate their customers’ forex requests into one application, in hard copy, to the national BEAC office. The BEAC office then clears and forwards the request to the regional office, based in Yaoundé, for final approval.

In practice, many banks continued to turn currency around without sending it to BEAC, processing payments for imported goods or services as soon as they receive foreign currency.  BEAC has reprimanded seven local bank general managers for failing to comply with the remittance requirements, denied any delays in their own procedures, and threatened more reprimands for banks that criticize the policy. Banks, including Ecobank, Standard Chartered, and Citi, and the business community complain that the process, which is supposed to provide the foreign currency required for outside transactions within 48 hours, takes anywhere from several days to several weeks.  The IMF reported a denial rate of 30 percent, which BEAC blamed on non-compliance, although some banks consider the reasons for refusal opaque. 

BEAC foreign exchange regulations have negative effects on businesses.  Many businesses say that they do not get sufficient FOREX to import goods to satisfy demand, and some have resorted to swap transactions involving third parties abroad to secure more funds.  The FOREX regulations are also affecting the operations of the Central African Stock Exchange (BVMAC).  The management of BVMAC says foreign investors are unable to invest significant amounts of money in the financial market due to forex controls. BVMAC is suggesting to government a corridor to allow foreign investors to invest in the BVMAC.  Such an exemption is already available for the extractive industries, where companies are allowed to open and manage bank accounts in foreign currencies overseas.

U.S. Banks and Local Correspondent Banks

The only American bank operating in Cameroon as of May 2019 is Citibank.  Several Cameroonian banks have correspondent status with other American financial institutions.  A few U.S. private equity firms are also present in Cameroon. 

Citibank Cameroon, S.A. (Douala) 

96, Rue Flatters, B.P. 4571 

Douala, Cameroon 

Tel.: (237) 3342 4272 

Fax: (237) 3342 4074 

Citibank Cameroon, S.A. (Yaoundé) 

487, Avenue Charles de Gaulle, B.P. 7324 

Yaoundé, Cameroon 

Tel.: (237) 2221 2777 

Fax: (237) 2221 2767