How do people in Senegal pay online?
Most Senegalese pay from a mobile wallet. The BCEAO counted 42.6 million electronic money accounts in Senegal at the end of 2024, 17.12% of the UEMOA total and the second highest after Côte d’Ivoire. Of these, 14.6 million were active, meaning they made at least one transaction in the previous 90 days. They carried 2.87 billion transactions in 2024, 24.11% of the union’s volume and the largest share of any member country, worth XOF 48,487 billion, or 30.2% of the union’s value. Transactions grew 34.73% on 2023, and 412,172 merchants were registered to accept electronic money payments.
Five electronic money institutions hold BCEAO licences in Senegal: Orange Finances Mobiles Sénégal (Orange Money), Mobile Cash (Free Money), Wave Digital Finance (Wave), QuickPay and Touch Point. Each wallet has its own online flow. With Wave, the merchant creates a checkout session and sends the shopper to a link that must open in the browser and then hands over to the Wave app; sessions expire after 30 minutes by default. With Orange Money Web Payment, which Orange offers to merchants in Senegal, the customer dials the Orange Money USSD menu to generate a one-time code and enters it on the payment page.
Cards are a small channel. Across the union, electronic money made up 98% of electronic payment transactions in 2024 and bank cards 1.74%. GIM-UEMOA, created in 2003 by the BCEAO and banks and now counting more than 130 members, runs the regional card scheme, an interbank switch and an e-commerce gateway, next to Visa and Mastercard.
Instant payments now link banks and wallets. The BCEAO started live tests of its interoperable instant payment platform, PI-SPI, on 5 June 2025 and set the official launch for 30 September 2025. It is built for transfers and payments between institutions regardless of the type of account used.
What rules shape online payments in Senegal?
Foreign digital sellers charge VAT. The standard rate is 18%. Since 1 July 2024, VAT applies to digital services supplied by non-resident online suppliers and to commissions that foreign intermediaries earn on digital sales in Senegal. According to Grant Thornton, foreign suppliers register through a simplified online form on the tax administration’s e-services platform, do not need a tax representative and file digital services VAT quarterly. Non-compliance can lead to suspension of access to the supplier’s platform or site from Senegal.
Electronic transfers are now taxed. Law No. 2025-17 of 27 September 2025 amended the General Tax Code and created a tax on money transfers. Orange Finances Mobiles Sénégal announced that it would apply it from 17 December 2025 at 0.5% of the amount, capped at XOF 2,000 per operation, on transfers and payments, and on withdrawals when more than XOF 20,000 is withdrawn within 24 hours, with exemptions for cash deposits and salary and scholarship payments. Ecofin Agency also reports a 0.5% withholding on payments that merchants receive through electronic platforms, collected by the operators for the state.
Online shoppers can withdraw. Under Law No. 2008-08 of 25 January 2008 on electronic transactions and Decree No. 2008-718 of 30 June 2008, as summarised by LPS Law, a consumer can withdraw from an online purchase within seven working days without giving a reason, counted from receipt for goods and from the contract for services. If the seller did not give the required information, such as its identity, prices including taxes and the existence of the withdrawal right, the period becomes three months. The seller must refund within a fortnight of the notice, using the original payment method, and may keep only the direct cost of returning the goods.
Customer data is overseen by the CDP. Under Law No. 2008-12 of 25 January 2008, most processing of personal data must be declared in advance to the Commission de Données Personnelles (CDP), the independent data protection authority. Transfers to countries without sufficient protection are prohibited unless an exception applies, such as the customer’s consent, and the controller must inform the CDP before transferring.
How would Omno route payments in Senegal?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Senegal:
- Wave pay-ins would go to a provider with a Wave checkout connection, with the order pending until the provider confirms the payment.
- Orange Money pay-ins can be offered in the hosted checkout next to Wave, routed to a provider that holds an Orange Money Web Payment connection.
- 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.
- Amount and customer group rules can send large orders or new customers to the methods and providers the merchant chooses.
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 at least two wallets. Wave and Orange Money each need their own connection and flow, and a checkout with only one misses customers on the other.
Plan for asynchronous results. Wave sessions expire after 30 minutes and Orange Money waits for a code from the USSD menu, so orders need a pending state and a final status from the provider.
Plan for tax on two levels. Foreign digital sellers need a Senegal VAT registration, and the transfer tax and merchant withholding can change the amount that reaches you.
Plan for withdrawal and data rules. Show your identity, prices and withdrawal terms on the site, refund within the deadline, and tell the CDP before sending customer data abroad.