The situation of financial inclusion in the WAEMU zone in general and in Benin in particular improved overall during 2018. However, more needs to be done to improve the use of financial services, according to a bceao report. With 74.5% (compared to 71.7% in 2017), Benin recorded the highest financial inclusion rate in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) in 2018, followed by Togo (71.9%), Côte d'Ivoire (70.4%), Burkina Faso (68.4%), Senegal (67.0%) and Niger (13.9%). The country has the highest synthetic financial inclusion index (Iif) (calculated from all indicators) in the zone with 0.60 ahead of Côte d'Ivoire (0.52), Burkina Faso (0.51), Senegal (0.50), Togo (0.45), Mali (0.38), Niger (0.26) and Guinea-Bissau (0.19), according to the Report on the situation of financial inclusion in the WAEMU zone during 2018. Benin's performance can be explained in particular by an increase in the demographic penetration rate of decentralized financial services (Tgpsfd) to 115 points of service per 10,000 adults. It is followed by Burkina Faso (62 points), Côte d'Ivoire (60), Mali (56), Senegal (53). The report published last October by the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) indicates that the overall rate in the Union has increased by 16 points, from 40 points of service per 10,000 adults in 2017 to 56 points of service per 10,000 adults in 2018. An increase which, says the document, is justified by the increase in the distribution infrastructure of electronic money services. Indeed, shops and kiosks offering "Mobile money" services are multiplying on street corners in cities and countryside, with the support of mobile phone networks (Gsm). These establishments use a local distribution network to offer their services and do not require a heavy investment. In this regard, Benin recorded the largest increase between 2017 and 2018 by gaining +46 points, followed by Côte d'Ivoire (+25 points) and Burkina Faso (+19 points) while countries recorded a decline over the same period such as Togo (-2 points). In terms of overall geographical penetration rate of financial services (Tgpsfg), Benin is also ahead with 645 service points on 1000 km2 in 2018, followed by Côte d'Ivoire (293) and Togo (259). The average geographical distribution of access points in the sub-region is 111 service points per 1000 km2 in 2018 compared to 76 in 2017. The rate of financial inclusion or overall rate of use of financial services (Tgusf) in the WAEMU is estimated at 57.1% in 2018 against 53.6% in 2017, an increase of 3.5%. Notwithstanding this development, many challenges remain for a better use of financial services by populations. The BCEAO intends to deploy a regional financial education programme, with the support of the Swiss Cooperation, in order to provide populations and small and medium-sized enterprises with appropriate modules to not only improve their financial literacy but also enable them to make the choices that suit their needs. A financial innovation laboratory is envisaged to support and stimulate, through appropriate policies and regulations, developments in the design and distribution of financial products and services. At the State level, particular emphasis should be placed on the development of the national strategy and the coordination of financial inclusion initiatives and the establishment of a statistical mechanism to monitor progress in this area, according to the report published by the Bceao. In fact, a recurrent problem of the timely unavailability of reliable data on demand and financial supply is still acute in all the Member States of the Union. In Benin, as elsewhere, banking performance appeared to be relatively weak during 2018. Innovation and the introduction of digital technology in the design and marketing of the offers of these institutions, which are deemed closer to the population, especially in rural areas, will contribute to further strengthening the use of microfinance services. Because, the figures hide a certain discrepancy with reality, in the sense that several accounts are held by one and the same person, in one or more financial institutions. A problem of "multibanking" that the Central Bank intends to solve through the establishment of a system of unique identification of users of financial services, as part of the implementation of the WAEMU regional financial inclusion strategy. This tool should promote better targeting of users and improve the monitoring of the state of financial inclusion. Performance in terms of geographical distribution of financial services points could also be improved with the geolocation of service points supported by a development strategy. In this regard, the Bceao envisages a system that will reduce the asymmetry of information on the availability of financial services and ensure an exhaustive network of the WAEMU zone. For the consolidation and strengthening of the microfinance sector, which is one of the vectors of financial inclusion in the Union, efforts will have to be continued in terms of the digitalisation of payments from financial administrations. This will contribute to the modernisation of payment channels and the digitalisation of public administration services (retirement pensions, social assistance programmes, payment of tax and social obligations). A study is underway, in collaboration with the World Bank, to produce a report on the digitalisation of payments from the Member States of the Union and a guide to good practice. In addition, the revision of the law on the regulation of decentralized financial systems and that on banking regulation in the West African Monetary Union (WAMU) is envisaged with the aim of consolidating the achievements of the microfinance sector in the Union and controlling risks on the one hand, and to finalize the regulatory and operational reforms implemented by the Central Bank since 2010 on the other hand.