Bitcoin‑powered ecash for WAEMU

A wallet for CFA ecash, Bitcoin, and Lightning. Built for low fees, privacy, and cross‑border speed. Launching in Burkina Faso with WAEMU‑wide expansion.

What we’re building

CFA franc ecash (1:1 backed by offshore EUR reserves)
Bitcoin ecash + Lightning payments via swaps
Privacy by design (Cashu/Chaumian ecash)
Licensed EMII path with BCEAO (own licence)
Operational resilience: hot‑standby mint, DR, HSM key management

Why BANQUE

Lower fees and instant settlement across WAEMU
Private, bearer‑style ecash for everyday payments
BTC/Lightning interoperability for remittances
Clear regulatory path: BCEAO EMII licence

Launch plan

Phase 1 (Months 1–3): Capital formation, governance, policies
Phase 2 (Months 4–6): EMII application to BCEAO, IT hardening
Phase 3 (Months 7–9): Review, audit, pilot onboarding (BF ⇄ Mali)
Phase 4 (Months 10–12): Licence approval & controlled launch

Target corridors

CI ⇄ BF
~$1.4B/yr flows

CI ⇄ ML
~$1.2B/yr

SN ⇄ ML
~$0.9B/yr

BF ⇄ ML
~$0.6B/yr

FR ⇄ CI
~$2.2B/yr remittances

FR ⇄ SN
~$1.8B/yr

Indicative volumes, conservative estimates.

Compliance stance

BANQUE pursues a BCEAO Electronic Money Issuer (EMII) licence. Client funds are fully segregated. AML/CFT with tiered KYC, ongoing monitoring, and reporting.

Privacy is preserved via bearer‑style ecash; the mint does not track user balances.

Contact

The BANQUE team

hello@banque.app