How do people in Niger pay online?
Wallets are widely held but lightly used. The BCEAO counted 9.75 million electronic money accounts in Niger at the end of 2024, up 16.19% in a year, but only 441,764 had made a transaction in the previous 90 days. That activity rate of 4.53% is the lowest in the union, against an average of 30.90%. Active accounts did grow fast, up 66.25% between 2023 and 2024.
Volumes are still small. Nigerien wallets carried 32 million transactions worth XOF 480 billion in 2024, 0.27% of the union’s volume. Payments to merchants and billers made up 11.6 million of those transactions, worth XOF 37.9 billion, and only 3,540 merchants were registered to take them.
Airtel Money is the one licensed issuer. The BCEAO lists Airtel Niger, with Airtel Money, as the only electronic money institution in Niger, and eight bank partnerships. They include Banque Atlantique Niger with Atlantique Telecom for Moov Flooz, Ecobank Niger and BIA Niger with Wave Mobile Money, Coris Niger with M2I for Coris Money, NITA with 2ISOFT for MyNITA, and Amana Transfert d’Argent Finance with 2ISOFT for Amanata. Wave received its electronic money approval in Niger in 2024, in partnership with Ecobank Niger, according to the BCEAO’s annual report.
Cards are a narrow channel. Across the union, electronic money made up 98% of electronic payment transactions in 2024 and bank cards 1.74%. GIM-UEMOA runs the regional card scheme and a GIM-eCommerce gateway, next to Visa and Mastercard. Google Pay is available for online and in-app payments in Niger.
Instant payments connect the union. The BCEAO started live tests of its interoperable instant payment platform, PI-SPI, on 5 June 2025, linking banks, microfinance institutions and electronic money issuers, and set its official launch for 30 September 2025.
What rules shape online payments in Niger?
Foreign sellers need a VAT representative. According to Grant Thornton, a taxable person not domiciled in Niger must designate a representative in Niger to handle formalities and payments. Without one, the tax and any penalties are claimed from the customer. To invoice VAT, annual turnover must exceed XOF 100 million. Niger uses a certified electronic invoicing system with remote filing and payment.
Customer data needs the HAPDP. According to DLA Piper, Law No. 2022-59 of 16 December 2022 on personal data makes the Haute Autorité de Protection des Données à caractère Personnel the regulator. Processing generally needs prior notification to it, and personal data can only go to a country that offers a superior or equivalent level of protection.
Cross-border payments follow BCEAO rules. The CFA franc is pegged to the euro at XOF 655.957 per euro. BCEAO Instruction No. 01-07-2025/RFE, in force since 1 August 2025, governs payments to and from abroad and with non-residents.
How would Omno route payments in Niger?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Niger:
- Airtel Money pay-ins would go to a provider with an Airtel Money connection in Niger, with the order pending until the customer approves the prompt.
- Wave and Moov Flooz would be offered in the hosted checkout as further wallets, each routed to a provider that holds it.
- 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, the record a back office should trust before shipping an order, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for a small but growing base. Few wallets are active today, so expect modest online volumes at first.
Plan for several wallets. Airtel Money, Moov Flooz and Wave each have their own customers.
Plan for a VAT representative. Without one, your customers can be asked to pay the tax and penalties.
Plan for data rules. Notify the HAPDP before processing customer data and check that any country you send it to offers equivalent protection.