ECOWAS Travellers' Cheque Circulates In 10 Member-states

July 8, 1999

Goddy Ikeh, PANA Correspondent

LAGOS, Nigeria (PANA) - ECOWAS travellers' cheque has gone into circulation
in 10 of the 16-member sub-regional economic and trade grouping, ECOWAS
director of information, Adrienne Diop, has said.

Diop said in Abuja that Sierra Leone, Guinea and the eight member-states of
the French-speaking Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) started
using the cheque on 1 July, the date scheduled for its take-off.

The BCEAO countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea
Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

She said that Nigeria, which originally planned to begin circulation on the
same day could not do so due to a change in the leadership of the country's
central bank.

Diop said the remaining six member states were expected to begin
circulating
the cheque later.

''The new Central Bank governor in Nigeria would need time to settle down
before allowing the country to sign on,'' she added.

The cheque was launched during the 21st summit of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja by former Nigerian head of state and
ECOWAS chairman, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

It is issued by the West African monetary agency on behalf of the committee
of central bank governors of the sub-region.

The instrument, which was created to facilitate trade and cross-border
transactions, is in five denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 units.