Old-series CFA coins lost legal-tender status across six Central African states on 1 November 2026, but holders still have a year-long exchange period. The change applies to the old range issued between 1958 and 1985, separating its withdrawal from use in payments from the continuing opportunity to exchange it.
The affected countries are Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The same effective date applies across all six states. The change concerns the specified old coin range, rather than a withdrawal of every CFA coin in circulation.
From 1 November, those coins no longer have legal-tender or debt-settlement status. That is the monetary-status change now in force. It is distinct from the earlier decision announced in October: the November date marks the start of the withdrawal’s legal effect, not simply another announcement of a future measure.
For people holding the affected coins, however, the end of legal-tender status does not mean that the exchange opportunity ended at the same time. The exchange period began on 1 November 2026 and runs until 31 October 2027. The coins therefore remain exchangeable within that period, subject to a staged timetable.
These two dates perform different functions. The first establishes when the old range ceased to have its former payment and debt-settlement status. The second sets the end of the period available for exchange. Treating the withdrawal date as an immediate loss of all monetary value would overlook that continuing arrangement.
The distinction is particularly important when describing what has changed. The affected coins have been withdrawn from legal tender, but their holders have not been left without an exchange period. Equally, the availability of exchange does not extend their legal-tender status through to October 2027. The status change and the exchange window operate alongside one another.
The scope of the measure is defined by the old range issued between 1958 and 1985. Those years identify the series affected by the withdrawal; they are not the dates of the current exchange programme. The programme itself spans November 2026 to October 2027, following the commencement of demonetisation this month.
Across the six countries, the central practical distinction is between using the old coins to settle a payment or debt and exchanging them under the continuing arrangement. The former legal status ended on 1 November. The latter remains available during the stated exchange period, with a staged timetable governing the process.
The year-long window should not be confused with a further year of legal-tender use. Its purpose in the announced arrangement is exchange of the withdrawn range. Describing the coins simply as still valid until the final exchange date would therefore blur the difference between the two statuses.
Likewise, describing the coins as having become immediately worthless would fail to reflect the exchange provision. The accurate position is narrower: the specified series has lost legal-tender and debt-settlement status, while holders may exchange it within the designated period. Both parts of that position took effect on the same November date.
The development is consequently a commencement rather than a new policy announcement. For holders in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, the relevant position is now the withdrawal in force, coupled with the exchange period ending on 31 October 2027.
