Associations of banks from several West African countries have been meeting in Abidjan since Wednesday morning for a forum on digitalization. This, in a cyber-security environment. The GIM UEMOA, "guarantor of interbank electronic banking", is participating in the work which will end on Thursday.

Several dozen experts from Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali, Togo, Niger and Côte d'Ivoire are gathered in a large hotel in Abidjan. The work was opened by the President of the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Côte d'Ivoire (APBEF), Guy Koizan, on behalf of the Federation of Banking Associations (FAPBEF). It is a question of examining "the bank-customer relationship, under the pressure of the Internet and digital technology", said Mr. Koizan.

The participants exchanged throughout the day around the general theme "the challenges of digital banking in the face of the challenges of cyber crime". They proceeded by presentations-questions/answers, allowing all the actors to present experiences while addressing concerns related to cyber-security. For the integration manager of GIM UEMOA, banks must promote “collaboration”, they must “work on interoperability”.

It should be recalled that the GIM UEMOA has “a very strong responsibility since it is at the heart of the electronic banking activity of the UEMOA banking community”. With a "unique model, because it brings together several countries and develops innovative services for (the) members who offer them to their customers".

"Concrete proposals and recommendations" are expected at the end of the two days, so that the desire to digitize banks is accompanied by effective security measures. In the meantime, all the participants remain convinced that the digitization of the bank is "essential".