How do people in Chad pay online?
Mobile money is the main electronic channel. The BEAC, the central bank of the CEMAC, counted 6,254,862 mobile money accounts in Chad at the end of 2024. They made 180,221,622 transactions worth XAF 526.7 billion in the year. EcoMatin, citing the same report, notes that the number of accounts nearly tripled in a year.
Three providers are licensed as payment institutions. Airtel’s mobile money subsidiary, Airtel Mobile Commerce Tchad, was among the first five payment institutions licensed in the CEMAC in 2022, according to the BEAC. Konoom Mobile Money, the first fully Chadian-owned provider, was licensed on 10 October 2025 by the Finance Ministry and the banking commission COBAC; it can offer transfers, withdrawals, tax payments, retail purchases and payment collection, but not deposits or credit. Moov Money Tchad, launched in January 2021, received its payment institution licence in the first half of 2026, as reported in Maroc Telecom’s half-year report. Moov Africa Tchad claims 7.5 million subscribers, 2 million of whom use its mobile money service.
Cards are catching up from a very low base. Chad had 221,488 active cards and 142 cash machines in 2024, and card holders made 327,024 payments at merchants worth XAF 8.2 billion, through just 95 terminals. In 2022 the BEAC recorded only 3,320 card payments. Cash machine withdrawals reached 5,894,012 in 2024, so cards are still used mainly for cash.
Across all payment instruments, Chad made up 1.41% of CEMAC transactions and 6.80% of their value in 2024.
What rules shape online payments in Chad?
VAT is 18%. A rate of 9% applies to listed local products, and 0% to exports. An economic activity performed in Chad for payment is liable for VAT even if the seller is resident or registered outside Chad, unless the VAT law exempts it, according to PwC.
Money transfers carry a 0.2% tax. It applies to transfers made by any traceable means, including electronic and mobile transfers, and to the cash withdrawals linked to them. Bank transfers and payments of taxes and duties are outside its scope.
Customer data has transfer limits. Act No. 007/PR/2015 of 10 February 2015 on personal data protection, with implementing Decree No. 075/PR/2019, governs customer data. Under Article 29, a data controller cannot transfer personal data to a country outside the CEMAC unless that country offers a sufficient level of protection. Act No. 008/PR/2015 covers electronic transactions.
Regional payment rules apply. Payment institutions in Chad operate under the CEMAC payment services regulation of 21 December 2018, and must hold customer funds in a ring-fenced account with one or more banks. Under the CEMAC foreign exchange regulation, No. 02/18/CEMAC/UMAC/CM, settlements with other countries go only through credit institutions (Article 30).
How would Omno route payments in Chad?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Chad:
- Airtel Money pay-ins would go to a provider that holds an Airtel Money connection in XAF, with the order pending until the customer approves.
- Moov Money pay-ins can be offered next to Airtel Money in the hosted checkout, routed to a provider that supports Moov Money.
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, with cascading: if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Customer group rules can show each customer the wallet they hold first, and send new customers or customers at a given verification level to the methods the merchant chooses.
Webhooks would carry the final status of each payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for two wallets, with a third arriving. Airtel Money and Moov Money are both licensed, and Konoom adds a local option for payment collection.
Plan for the transfer tax. The 0.2% tax applies to electronic and mobile transfers, so wallet payouts and settlements need clear fee records.
Plan for data kept in the CEMAC or in countries with sufficient protection, under Article 29 of Act No. 007/PR/2015.
Plan for cards as a growing second route. Card payments at merchants grew nearly a hundredfold between 2022 and 2024.