West African CFA Franc


West African CFA Franc

The currency of several former French colonies in West Africa, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. It was introduced in 1945 to spare French colonies from the severe devaluation necessary to the French franc following World War II. Between 1949 and 1999, it was pegged to the French franc. Since then, it has been pegged to the euro. While it is of equal value to the Central African CFA franc, the two currencies are not interchangeable.