Mobile money transfers are significantly more expensive since a week in Côte d’Ivoire due to a 0.5% tax applied by the government. This tax is indicated in the tax schedule of the law n° 2017-870 of December 27th, 2017 on 2018 budget. According to the schedule, the tax is collected under the same conditions, procedures, sanctions, and securities as the value-added tax.

The tax must be paid by the originator of the transfer. This means that it is paid by the customer who sends the money. For instance, when a customer sends CFA1, 000, apart from the fees charged by telecommunication operators for the transaction, he will also have to pay CFA5 for the tax.

The new fiscal measure is aimed at increasing public revenues. However, in the tax schedule, the government indicates that the tax imposed on mobile money transactions “is still below the real potential because it is still difficult for the fiscal authority to estimate the real volume of transactions conducted via mobile money”.  

During the currency and electronic payment forum held in Casablanca, Morocco, on July 22-23, 2017, René Tano, Head of Cash Management at the International Bank for Trade and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire (BICICI) estimated the daily volume of mobile money transactions in the country at CFA17 billion. This is a CFA85 million government will collect daily thanks to this new tax.

Muriel Edjo