Benin recorded the highest rate of financial-services use in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) in 2025, reaching 92.8% of adults, up from 89.8% in 2024. According to the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) annual report released on 26 October 2026, Benin was ahead of Togo (90.7%), Côte d’Ivoire (88.7%) and Senegal (88.0%).
Adjusted to avoid counting people with multiple accounts more than once, the measure covers banking, microfinance and electronic money services. Benin’s rate stood 16.7 percentage points above the regional average of 76.1% in 2025, following a three-point annual increase.
Benin also led the region on the narrower measure of bank account ownership, which covers banks, postal services, national savings institutions and the Treasury. This rate rose to 39.8% of adults from 38.2% in 2024. Côte d’Ivoire followed at 37.1%, while the WAEMU average was 26.9%.
Microfinance broadens the use of financial services
Including microfinance accounts, Benin’s expanded account-ownership rate reached 91.7% in 2025, compared with 89.3% a year earlier. Togo followed at 86.9%. The gap between the narrow and expanded measures highlights the role of microfinance institutions in the BCEAO’s assessment of financial coverage, even before electronic money is added to the overall usage rate.
Benin also ranked first on the composite financial inclusion index, scoring 0.667 on a scale from zero to one, up from 0.663 in 2024. The index combines dimensions including access, usage and service costs. Benin remained ahead of Senegal (0.651) and Côte d’Ivoire (0.646), while the WAEMU average rose to 0.616.