Payments/GA
Gabon
ISO GA · 3 schemes
Summary
- Airtel Money dominant (800K+ subscribers)
- CEMAC zone regional integration
- pawaPay/Revolut remittance partnerships
- Cross-border Orange Cameroon link
- GIMAC interoperability active
Banking landscape
Central Bank
- Name: BEAC (Bank of Central African States)
- Website: https://www.beac.int/
- Role: Regional monetary policy (CEMAC zone)
Major Banks (2024)
| Rank | Bank Name | Type | Digital Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BGFI Bank | Regional | BGFI Mobile |
| 2 | UGB | Local | UGB Mobile |
| 3 | Ecobank Gabon | Pan-African | Ecobank Mobile |
| 4 | Société Générale Gabon | International | SG Mobile |
| 5 | Orabank Gabon | Regional | Orabank App |
Market Structure
- Airtel Money: Most widespread
- CEMAC zone: Regional system
- Cross-border: Cameroon link
- 800K+ subscribers: 2021 data
Payment infrastructure
National Payment Systems
| System | Operator | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel Money | Airtel Gabon | Mobile money | Dominant |
| GIMAC | BEAC | Regional switch | Active |
| Bank Transfers | Banks | RTGS | Active |
Airtel Money Gabon
- USSD: *150#
- 800,000+ subscribers (2021)
- Agent network nationwide
- Cross-border capabilities
Free Services
- Account creation
- Mobile money deposits
- Transfers to subscribers
- Airtime purchase
QR code standards
Limited QR Implementation
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| National QR | Not established |
| Airtel QR | USSD-based |
| CEMAC | Framework available |
| Adoption | Limited |
Mobile Money Dominance
- USSD primary channel
- Agent-based transactions
- Cash-in/cash-out focus
- QR secondary priority
Cross-Border
- Orange Cameroon transfers
- Equatorial Guinea link
- CEMAC integration
- Regional payments
Mobile payment apps
| App | Provider | QR | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel Money | Airtel | Limited | Mobile money |
| Bank Apps | Various | Limited | Banking |
Airtel Money Features
- Money transfers
- Bill payments
- Airtime purchase
- Agent network
- Cross-border
International Remittances
- Revolut partnership (May 2024)
- pawaPay integration
- WorldRemit access
- Europe-Africa corridor
pawaPay Partnership
- Inbound remittances
- IMTO delivery
- Wallet deposits
- 44.6M Airtel Money users network
Schemes
| Scheme | Type | Symbology | Adoption | Technical standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel Money | Mobile money | USSD | 800K+ | airtel-money |
| CEMAC | Regional | Interbank | Active | — |
| Revolut | Remittance | Partner | 2024 | — |
Sources
- Airtel Gabon Official
- Temo Group - Airtel Money Fees
- FFNews - Revolut Mobile Wallets
- Connecting Africa - pawaPay Remittances
- Newrest - Airtel Partnership
- Shift Thought - Airtel Money Gabon
- Wikipedia - Airtel Africa
Full country report
Schemes
Standards
Primary · 1