Abidjan (AFP)
"There is no money oh!" warns the receiver of "gbaka", a collective minibus from Abidjan, by getting the passengers on board: you have to pay the backup or make a change in your money ... or wait for the next gbaka.
In most of the fourteen countries which use the CFA franc in West and Central Africa - while waiting for the arrival of the Eco, future common currency - it is the same daily catchphrase: difficult to pay small sums with a "big" ticket of 10,000 FCFA (15 euros), or even a ticket of 5,000 FCFA.
Small change is even trafficked or black marketed in some cities.
"Three days ago, a taxi driver made me get out of his car when I told him that I had a ticket of 1,000 CFA francs (1.50 euro) for a race at 200 FCFA," said Harouna Moumouni, a caretaker in Niamey.
In grocery stores, pharmacies or even supermarkets, the customer is often given the change in candies, cookies or tissues.
The chronic shortage of small change handicaps traders in these countries where most of the transactions are made in cash, electronic means of payment being reserved for large sums and luxury establishments.
"It often happens that I have to look for change for twenty minutes in the neighborhood, during that time I can lose customers," laments Alassane N'Diaye, salesman in a craft shop in Dakar.
How is the shortage of coins, small denominations of 500, 1,000 and 2,000 FCFA, and of coins, which range from 5 to 500 FCFA, to be explained?
- a balancing act -
The seemingly trivial question is sensitive. The bankers contacted by AFP only replied on condition of anonymity.
According to a BCEAO executive, the answer is simple: coins and small notes are expensive to produce for the two central banks that manage money in the two franc zones (BCEAO for West Africa, BEAC for l 'Central Africa).
"The small cuts turn a lot, so they wear out quickly and they have to be replaced often. We don't produce enough. The parts last much longer, but they are expensive to produce. Because of the metals they are made of, they even cost more than their face value. So the central banks lose money on the coins. This is why there are not enough either, "said the executive.
Another, complementary explanation, it is difficult for the two central banks to distribute coins and banknotes correctly across all the countries they manage, taking into account all economic and financial factors.
"Circulating the currency is a balancing act," said the representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Côte d'Ivoire, José Gijon.
Faced with the shortage, traders resort to the black market.
"Each week, I get supplies from small cut dealers to supply the boxes. They take a 10% margin," said AFP the director of a large supermarket in Abidjan, preferring to keep her name quiet.
- encourage virtual money -
Among these resellers, there are all those whose activity allows them to collect small change: street vendors, receivers of gbakas ... and even beggars who at the end of the day exchange their baskets full of coins for tickets, for a 10% commission.
"The small change currency does not circulate as it should. So there is a parallel market", confirms an executive of a private bank.
A few meters from the Ivorian headquarters of the BCEAO, in the center of Abidjan, there are other coin dealers, young men with well-filled bags, but small new clippings.
Where do these bundles still fitted with their loops come from? The dealer does not respond, but indicates the tower of the bank. He is ready to make a reduction on his usual commission of 10% if we order for several million small bills ...
In the absence of a large-scale study, it is difficult to know the precise impact of the lack of small change on African economies, notes the banker.
Will the arrival of Eco, the future West African common currency supposed to see the light of day in 2020, help improve the situation?
"It is a bit of a nebula, this future currency. Difficult to judge if that will settle the question of small change", judges the private banker.
Rather than making more money, we should encourage the use of virtual money for payments, especially applications by mobile phone, says Hermann Yohou, an economist at the IMF, African populations being poorly banked but very well equipped in mobiles.
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© 2020 AFP