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🇨🇫 Sending to Central African Republic

CF · CAF · +236 · CEMAC

XAF

IBAN optional   SWIFT BIC required


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Required information

  • IBAN or domestic account number

    IBAN strongly recommended. See account format for details.

  • SWIFT BIC

    Beneficiary bank BIC (8 or 11 characters).

  • Purpose-of-payment code (ISO 20022 list)

    See purpose-of-payment section for the required scheme.

For your end users

CEMAC country: payments > 5M XAF must be deposited at a local authorized intermediary. Payments > 100M XAF require BEAC central-bank approval - expect documentation delays.

Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-19. Reference material only.

  • Currency

    XAF

  • Typical settlement

    1-2 business days under 5M XAF; 5+ days for amounts requiring BEAC approval (>100M XAF).

  • SWIFT BIC

    Required

  • Local clearing

    SYGMA / SYSTAC (BEAC)

Account format

How beneficiary account numbers are structured for Central African Republic. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.

Field Value
Format tier IBAN optional (recommended)
Length 23 digits
Validation regex ^[0-9]{23}$
Example 12345678901234567890123

Routing identifiers

Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for Central African Republic.

Field Value
SWIFT BIC Required
None Optional
Local clearing SYGMA / SYSTAC (BEAC)

Purpose of payment

Put a code from the ISO 20022 list in <Purp><Cd> (purpose_code). Requirement: ISO 20022 code required GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.

Not yet confirmed

We have not yet confirmed this country's purpose-of-payment requirement against a central-bank or correspondent-bank source. Including a purpose is recommended. We update these guides as we confirm each country.

Standard list applies

Central African Republic doesn't publish a country-specific PoP scheme. Use the ISO 20022 standard purpose codes.

Remittance info

Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.

No special remittance-info requirement - clearly identify the economic reason for the payment.

Operational notes

Field Value
FX minimum (USD) $100
Currencies accepted XAF
Typical settlement 1-2 business days under 5M XAF; 5+ days for amounts requiring BEAC approval (>100M XAF).
Banking holidays ↗ Calendar

Common rejection reasons

Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.

Missing supporting documentation for payments > 100M XAF - BEAC central-bank approval required and not obtained.
Beneficiary not declared at a local authorized intermediary for payments > 5M XAF.
Missing economic-reason purpose statement.
Beneficiary name not matching government-issued ID.

Validate before you send

Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.

IBAN check

Format: ^[0-9]{23}$ · MOD-97 (ISO 13616) check digit verified locally.

BIC lookup

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References

First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.


Disclaimer

These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.

Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.

For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.

Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.

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