The Central African CFA franc
Currency · XAF · FCFA · 6 countries and territories
The Bank of Central African States, based in Yaoundé, issues this franc for the members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa. It reached the French colonies of Equatorial Africa in 1945, taking the place of the French Equatorial African franc. Since 1999 the peg has been to the euro, at 655.957 francs to one euro.
The abbreviation
FCFA, also written F.CFA, abbreviates franc CFA. The letters first stood for Colonies françaises d'Afrique, the French colonies of Africa. After independence the words behind them became Communauté financière africaine, the African Financial Community, and the abbreviation stayed as it was.
- ISO code
- XAF
- ISO number
- 950
- Fraction
- None, amounts are whole units
- ISO name
- CFA Franc BEAC
An amount, written out
FCFA 1,234
- FCFA 1,234EnglishCameroon
- 1 234 FCFAFrenchCentral African Republic, Equatorial Guinea +2
- ١٬٢٣٤ FCFAArabicChad
In English the sign comes before the amount. Where the Central African CFA franc is used, it comes after in 4 countries and before in 1.
Where the Central African CFA franc is the official currency
Cameroon, Chad, Gabon, the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo inherited it from French rule. Equatorial Guinea, once Spanish, joined the union in 1983 and took the franc up in place of the ekwele.
About the Central African CFA franc
Who issues the franc from Yaoundé
The Bank of Central African States, known by its French initials BEAC, issues the currency from its seat in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It serves the members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, CEMAC. In the West African states a second CFA franc circulates, of equal value but issued by a separate bank.
The bank has changed its name twice. In 1961 the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale et du Cameroun took over note production from the colonial issuer, and in 1963 it dropped Cameroon from its title. The present name arrived in the 1970s.
How the franc's peg reached the euro
From 1948 one CFA franc was worth two French francs. France then introduced its new franc at one new franc to a hundred old ones, which made the CFA franc worth 0.02 of the new unit. In 1994 the CFA franc was devalued by half, to 0.01 French francs. When the euro replaced the French franc in 1999 the link passed to it at 655.957 CFA francs to one euro.
Investopedia describes the currency as backed by the French treasury. At a ministerial meeting on 25 April 2023, the French side called that guarantee, and the promise of convertibility, a source of economic stability for the region.
Which territories came into the zone
The franc replaced the French Equatorial African franc in 1945 in Chad, French Cameroun, French Congo, Gabon and Ubangi-Shari. None of them dropped it at independence. In 1961 part of British Cameroon joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon and took the franc with it. The Treaty of Brazzaville created a customs and economic union of five of these states in 1964.
Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony, joined the union in 1983 and adopted the franc a year later in place of the ekwele.
How the banknotes tell the states apart
From 1975 each state issued notes in its own name. That ended in 1993, and since then one shared design carries a single letter to mark the issuing state. In the 2002 series A stands for Gabon, C for Chad, F for Equatorial Guinea, M for the Central African Republic, T for the Republic of the Congo and U for Cameroon. The 2,000-franc note arrived in 1993.
Since 15 December 2022 the bank has put a new range of notes into circulation, called Type 2020, and it is withdrawing the Type 1992 notes. The notes run from 500 to 10,000 francs.
What the coins carry
A 2006 redesign put the letters CEMAC on every coin, brought back a 2-franc piece and introduced a bimetallic 100-franc coin and a smaller, laser-marked 500-franc coin. A further series reached circulation in April 2025, with a bimetallic 200-franc coin and a trimetallic 500-franc coin. Every CFA coin bears a mint mark to the left of the value and an engraver's privy mark to its right.
Why critics want the franc gone
Opponents in the anti-CFA movement, as the BBC reported them, argue that the member states send more money to France in return for the treasury guarantee than they receive in aid, and that they have no say over monetary policy. France said in 2023 that it was open to reforming monetary cooperation in Central Africa, as has happened in West Africa, and ready to receive CEMAC's proposals. An NGO held a conference on the franc in Libreville in June 2025.
Common questions
Questions about the Central African CFA franc
Is the Central African CFA franc the same money as the West African CFA franc?
The two are of equal value, but they are separate currencies. The Bank of Central African States issues the Central African franc for the CEMAC members, and a different bank issues the West African one. The Central African notes and coins are made for Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
What do the letters on Central African CFA banknotes mean?
Each letter marks the state that issued the note. Between 1975 and 1993 every member printed notes in its own name. After that the bank moved to a common design and kept only a letter to tell the issues apart. In the 2002 series A is Gabon, C is Chad, F is Equatorial Guinea, M is the Central African Republic, T is the Republic of the Congo and U is Cameroon. An earlier 1993 series used a different set of letters.
When was the CFA franc devalued?
In 1994, by half. From 1948 one CFA franc had been worth two French francs, which became 0.02 new francs once France redenominated its own currency at a hundred to one. The 1994 devaluation cut that to 0.01 French francs. Five years later the French franc gave way to the euro, and the CFA franc was tied to the new currency at 655.957 francs to one euro, which matched the French franc's own conversion rate of 6.55957 to the euro.
Does France still guarantee the franc?
Investopedia describes the currency as backed by the French treasury. At a CEMAC and France ministerial meeting on 25 April 2023, the French side described the guarantee and the assurance of convertibility as supports of stability, and said it was ready to hear CEMAC proposals for reform.