The West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) is an autonomous and specialised body of ECOWAS. It was establishedin 1993, and started operations in 1996, as result of the transformation of the West African Clearing House (WACH). TheAgency is charged with the responsibility for monitoring, coordinating, and implementing the ECOWAS MonetaryCooperation Programme (EMCP), geared towards the creation […]

The European Union (EU) offers a unique experience of financial integration among sovereigncountries, including regulatory and institutional integration of financial services. Financial integrationof European economies started with growing trade integration, various financial regulatory initiativesfrom the late 1970s, and the scrapping of capital controls by participating European nations from thelate 1980s. While financial integration made progress, […]

The roadmap for the adoption of the ECOWAS single currency revised in Accra, Ghana during the 86th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers on 16 and 17th June 2021. The revised roadmap sets out various activities to be implemented before the eco is launched in 2027. Among the activities is the harmonization of existing […]

The Financial Integration Department of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) in collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB), the ECOWAS Commission and Member Central Banks, organized a one-day virtual workshop on October 28, 2021 on the theme “Implementation of the ECOWAS Payment and Settlement System (EPSS) Project and the Lessons that Could be Drawn […]

The WEST AFRICAN MONETARY AGENCY (WAMA) has received financing from the African Development toward the cost of the Gender Mainstreaming in Digital Financial Services Policies and Regulations across ECOWAS, and intends to apply part of the agreed amount of USD 75,000 to payments under the contract for consultant. The services included under this project are […]

The Agency is seeking applications from qualified individuals for the position of Senior Economist. The candidate must be a national of Sierra Leone and meet the following criteria.

WAMA and WABA organized a joint forum on the theme: “The Role of Commercial Banks as Important Stakeholders towards the Implementation of the ECOWAS Single Currency and the ECOWAS Payment and Settlement System Integration Projects”.

The general objective of this joint forum was to update commercial Banks in the region on the ECOWAS Single Currency and ECOWAS Payment and Settlement System Integration Project as well as highlight their roles as critical stakeholders in the ongoing processes.  

Specifically, the objective of the joint forum was to:

1. better involve commercial banks, and other financial institutions in ECOWAS in these Projects as key stakeholders;
2. foster ownership of the project by commercial banks, get their observations and guidance on the two projects which could positively impact on implementation; and
3. create a permanent dialogue platform for all these entities to foster experience sharing which would be mutually beneficial.

The establishment of a monetary union requires first a determination of the structural economic mechanisms for which either convergence/coordination between national mechanisms or the creation of a new federal institution are needed. These mechanisms cover fiscal and financial policies, including financial stability, payments and increasingly climate change policies. In a second step, cross institutional cooperation between the central banks of the prospective member states is needed to harmonize the conduct of monetary and financial policies. This includes collaboration to promote understanding of the multiple challenges faced by policy makers addressing shifts in the global economy that impact on their economies. This is especially relevant in exceptional times which may require unconventional policy responses.

The Mid-year Statutory Meetings of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) will be hosted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea from 16 August to 21 August, 2019 in Conakry, Guinea according to the following programme : PROGRAMME PARTICIPATING MEMBERS 16 – 18 August 201935th Joint Ordinary Meeting of the Technical Committees Operations and Administration Committee –  […]