How do people in Comoros pay online?
Wallets are spreading from a low base. The Banque Centrale des Comores (BCC) counted 744,929 open electronic money accounts at the end of 2025, up 13% in a year, of which 223,110 were active, up 20%. Transactions rose 49% to 8.2 million. Most accounts are still dormant, and the BCC names this as a persistent challenge.
MVola leads the market. The BCC lists Telco Money (MVola), the BDC with Holo and Huri Money as the main providers, with MVola close to 73% of the market. MVola, from the Axian group, arrived in 2019, after Holo; Huri Money from Comores Telecom followed in 2021 but temporarily stopped its activity in 2025. In February 2026 the BCC granted Axian a licence for a fully digital financial institution that will operate alongside MVola.
Shopping is a small share of use. Phone top-ups made up 54% of electronic money operations in 2025, and cash top-ups and withdrawals much of the rest. The BCC says merchant payments, bill payments and payments to the administration remain limited, while bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank transfers passed 1.2 million operations. The wallet network had 3,157 payment terminals and 5,561 agents at the end of 2025.
Banks reach a minority. Banking penetration was 39.23% in 2024 and financial inclusion, counting electronic money accounts, 49.20%, with a BCC target of 75% by 2030. The World Bank’s Global Findex found that 45.5% of adults had an account in 2024, and 32.5% of people used the internet that year. Google lists the Comoros for Google Pay in websites and apps, for customers with a card.
What rules shape online payments in Comoros?
The consumption tax applies instead of VAT. Under Article 152 of the General Tax Code, the taxe sur la consommation is 10%, with reduced rates such as 5% for banking activities and 7.5% for mobile voice and data top-ups. Article 142 applies it to operations carried out in the Comoros even when the taxpayer is based abroad, and Article 143 treats a service as carried out in the Comoros when it is used or exploited there.
The franc is pegged to the euro. The BCC anchors the Comorian franc to the euro at a parity of 1 EUR = 491.96775 KMF and sets monetary policy to defend that parity.
Payment systems are being rebuilt. The BCC’s 2025 report describes the rollout of Komor Pay, an automated transfer system that replaces manual clearing, and a national switch to make banks’ systems and payment methods interoperable. A national payment hub serves microfinance institutions without bank cards. Electronic money is supervised by the BCC.
How would Omno route payments in Comoros?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In the Comoros:
- MVola pay-ins would go to a provider with an MVola merchant connection, with the order pending until the customer confirms on the phone.
- Holo could be offered next to MVola in the hosted checkout, routed to a provider that holds a BDC connection.
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, with cascading to the next provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
Webhooks would carry the final status of each payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled it and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for MVola first. It holds most of the electronic money market, and many customers have no card.
Plan for low digital habits. Most wallet use is top-ups and cash movements, so a simple checkout with clear phone prompts matters.
Plan for the consumption tax. Services used in the Comoros fall within it even when the supplier is abroad, so check how it applies to your sales.
Plan for euro-linked pricing. The fixed parity with the euro limits currency swings between KMF prices and euro settlement.