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West African CFA Franc (XOF)

The West African CFA franc (XOF) is the shared currency of eight countries in West Africa, issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar. It is held at a fixed parity with the euro, guaranteed by the French Treasury.

Updated Sep 19, 2026, 12:02 AM

XOF
From
To

Converted amount

1.52 EUR

1 XOF = 0.001525 EUR · 1 EUR = 655.873 XOF

XOFEUR

Updated Sep 19, 2026, 12:02 AM

XOF against the major currencies

The figure shown is the mid-market rate: the midpoint between the buy and sell price, updated hourly. It is the rate before any margin is added, so a bank or a bureau de change will quote you a lower one.

About the West African CFA Franc

The CFA franc was created in December 1945, when France ratified the Bretton Woods agreements. The initials once stood for the French colonies of Africa; today they are read as African Financial Community. The currency was tied to the French franc, was devalued once, in January 1994, and moved to a fixed parity with the euro when the French franc disappeared in 1999. A reform agreed in 2019 ended the obligation to hold part of the zone's foreign reserves at the French Treasury and removed French representatives from the BCEAO's governing bodies, while keeping the peg and the guarantee.

The fixed parity has a concrete consequence for anyone converting money: the euro to CFA franc rate does not move from day to day, so a rate noted last month is still the rate today. Against every other currency, however, the CFA franc moves exactly as the euro does, which is why a dollar or a naira amount in francs changes constantly. The Central African CFA franc (XAF) holds the same parity but is a separate currency: notes from one zone are not accepted in the other.

The West African CFA franc is legal tender in the eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

XOF at a glance

Symbol
F CFA
Subunit
1 franc = 100 centimes, not used in practice
Central bank
Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), created in 1959
Introduced
December 1945
ISO 4217 code
XOF

FAQ

What is the CFA franc?

The West African CFA franc is the shared currency of eight West African countries, written XOF under the ISO 4217 standard and usually shown as F CFA. It is issued by the Central Bank of West African States and held at a fixed parity with the euro, guaranteed by the French Treasury. It has existed since December 1945.

Why does the euro to CFA franc rate never change?

The West African CFA franc is not floated against the euro: its parity is fixed and has been unchanged since the euro was created in 1999. Converting euros to francs therefore gives the same result whatever the day. Against the dollar, the pound or the naira the franc does move, because it follows the euro's own variations.

Is XOF the same as the Central African CFA franc?

No. XOF is issued by the BCEAO for the West African monetary union and XAF by the BEAC for the Central African one. The two hold the same parity with the euro, so their value is identical, but they are distinct currencies with distinct notes: francs from Dakar are not legal tender in Douala, and travellers between the two zones have to exchange them.

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