CinetPay, an Ivorian fintech which claims to have over 25,000 businesses using its online payment collection product, owes its customers over $1.2 million since September 2025. Its CEO, Daniel Dindji, signed several documents, seen by , that blame the cyberattack for this problem.
How did the cyberattack happen? In September 2025, CinetPay was attacked simultaneously in Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, and Burkina Faso. Within minutes, fraudsters began withdrawing funds and transferring them to mobile money accounts in these countries, according to Dindji’s letter, which cites police reports. CinetPay only detected the breach after large sums across four countries had vanished.
Why does this matter? CinetPay received a licence from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the same month it reported the cyberattack. The highly coveted licence was granted to only 30 fintechs and allows holders to process payments across member countries, including Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo.
The licence also requires a minimum capital of 100 million CFA ($180,720), robust governance, strong anti-fraud and AML controls, and resilient technical infrastructure—all standards designed to prevent operational and security lapses. Given the recency of CinetPay’s licence, the cyberattack tested how effectively these standards were implemented in practice.
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