How can one find about these WAUAs ? Does anyone have the e-mail address and/or phone number of the body running this service? >From: Madiba Saidy <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: West African travellers cheques launched >Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 11:54:12 -0700 > >FREETOWN, July 1 (Reuters) - Travellers cheques denominated in West >African Units of Account (WAUA) officially went on sale on Thursday in the >Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African >Monetary >Agency (WAMA) said. > >ECOWAS covers 16 countries -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, >Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, >Niger, >Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. > >The WAUA will follow the value of the Special Drawing Right and the >cheques will be in denominations from five to 100 WAUA. > >George Osaka, WAMA director of research and operations, told Reuters >that WAMA's Freetown headquarters would set an exchange rate against the >various West African currencies once every two weeks. The cheques would >then be >exchangeable around the region at that rate for two weeks. > >Banks will be allowed to make a spread of a maximum of one percent >around the rate when buying or selling the cheques but will not be allowed >to >charge commission, according to central bank officials in the region. > >There has been wide publicity for the cheques in Freetown this week and >campaigns have been launched in certain other ECOWAS countries. > >The cheques were not available in banks in Abidjan, and publicity >campaigns in Ivory Coast and the other seven CFA franc countries had been >delayed for technical reasons, an official at their common central bank, >the >Dakar-based BCEAO, said. > >ECOWAS officials see the travellers cheque as a step towards monetary >union and are hoping that they will stimulate regional trade. > >12:27 07-01-99 > >Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------