By Dipo Olowookere
West African country, Senegal, has announced plans to use a digital currency in 2017 that will be circulated alongside paper money as legal tender.
The digital currency, according to The Paypers, is called eCFA and will be issued by the Banque Régionale de Marchés (BRM).
The effort is a joint partnership with eCurrency Mint, a company that helps central banks issue digital fiat currency.
Furthermore, it will be accepted by existing payment platforms such as MPesa, a mobile payments platform that allows people to transfer cash on their phones.
The e-money will be issued in compliance with the Central Bank of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
In its second phase of roll out, the e-currency will be used in other countries in the union: Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo and Guinea-Bissau.
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka