Communauté Financière Africaine. The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, recently Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, or colloquially franc) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. The French treasury guarantees both currencies. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable.
There are two different currencies called the CFA franc:
- The West African CFA franc (XOF) in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo
- The Central Africa CFA franc (XAF) in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon.
Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA in 1984.