The Central Bank of West African States has extended the deadlines for institutions in the West African Economic and Monetary Union to connect to the Interoperable Platform of the Instant Payment System, or PI-SPI. The new deadlines for the effective launch of PI-SPI services are Sept. 30, 2026, for banks, electronic money institutions and payment institutions, and June 30, 2027, for microfinance institutions supervised by the Banking Commission of the West African Monetary Union. The extension is intended to give affected institutions more time to complete integration and meet the platform’s service quality requirements. PI-SPI was launched on Sept. 30, 2025, and, as of June 24, 2026, 80 participants were connected to the platform, giving several million people access to PI-SPI services. A further 74 institutions were in live testing ahead of opening services to the public. The central bank added that its relevant services remain available to support participants in their integration work.
Central Bank of West African States2026-06-25
Central Bank of West African States extends PI-SPI instant payments rollout deadlines to September 2026 for banks and June 2027 for microfinance institutions
The Central Bank of West African States has pushed back PI-SPI rollout deadlines across the union. Banks, electronic money institutions and payment institutions must open services by Sept. 30, 2026, while supervised microfinance institutions have until June 30, 2027. As of June 24, 2026, 80 participants were connected and 74 more were in live testing.