KYB in Burkina Faso: Regulatory Overview

For banks, fintech companies, payment service providers, and other regulated entities onboarding corporate customers linked to Burkina Faso, Know Your Business (KYB) is a central element of AML/CFT compliance. Unlike individual KYC, KYB focuses on understanding the legal existence of entities, their ownership and control structures, and the economic rationale behind their activities.

In Burkina Faso, KYB requirements are not defined solely by domestic law. They are primarily shaped by a harmonised regional AML/CFT framework applicable across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), with local supervisors assessing how these rules are applied in practice. This overview explains how KYB works in Burkina Faso, where regulators focus during inspections, and how compliance teams structure effective corporate due diligence, including through supporting technology used in the market such as VOVE ID.

Regulatory framework and supervisory approach

KYB obligations in Burkina Faso are grounded in WAEMU AML/CFT legislation, most notably Règlement n°15/2002/CM/UEMOA, as amended, which establishes customer due diligence and reporting requirements for legal persons. These rules are supplemented by supervisory instructions and sector-specific guidance, including Instruction n°008-05-2015 issued by the BCEAO, which sets out operational expectations for regulated institutions.

Supervision is carried out through:

• BCEAO and the WAEMU Banking Commission, for banks, payment institutions, and e-money issuers
• National authorities and professional bodies supervising DNFBPs
• CENTIF Burkina, responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious transaction reports involving legal entities

Recent supervisory cycles show a clear shift away from box-ticking reviews toward assessments of whether KYB files are coherent, complete, and defensible during on-site inspections.

Scope of KYB obligations

KYB requirements apply to all obligated entities establishing business relationships with legal persons, including:

• Banks and microfinance institutions
• Payment institutions and electronic money issuers
• Insurance companies and intermediaries
• Foreign exchange bureaus
• DNFBPs such as notaries, lawyers, real estate agents, and dealers in precious metals or stones

Foreign fintechs onboarding companies operating in or connected to Burkina Faso are also expected to comply, particularly when they provide regulated services directly or through partnerships with locally supervised institutions.

Core corporate identification requirements

At onboarding, institutions must collect reliable and independent documentation establishing the legal existence and structure of the corporate customer. In practice, a standard KYB file in Burkina Faso includes:

• Legal name, legal form, registration number, and date of incorporation
• Registered address and principal place of business
• Articles of association or equivalent constitutive documents
• Extract from the commercial register (RCCM)
• Tax identification number, where applicable
• Identification of directors, senior management, and authorised signatories

Supervisors also expect institutions to understand the customer’s business purpose, sector of activity, and expected transaction profile, rather than relying solely on formal documents.

Beneficial ownership and control

Beneficial ownership transparency is the most scrutinised element of KYB in Burkina Faso. In line with WAEMU practice, regulated entities are expected to identify the natural persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity.

In practice:

• A 25 percent ownership threshold is applied as the standard benchmark
• Lower thresholds are treated as exceptional and require strong, risk-based justification
• Control exercised through voting rights, contractual arrangements, or other means must also be assessed

Inspection findings frequently point to weaknesses where institutions rely on self-declarations without sufficient corroboration or fail to clearly document ownership chains and control logic.

Risk-based KYB and enhanced measures

KYB in Burkina Faso is subject to a mandatory risk-based approach. Institutions must assess the ML/TF risk associated with each corporate customer, taking into account:

• Sector of activity, including exposure to cash-intensive operations
• Geographic footprint and cross-border links
• Complexity of ownership and management structures
• Expected transaction volumes, counterparties, and flows

Higher-risk entities require enhanced KYB measures. These may include deeper ownership verification, analysis of source of funds, additional supporting documentation, and senior management approval prior to onboarding. During inspections, regulators increasingly expect institutions to demonstrate how these risk assessments directly influence KYB decisions.

Ongoing KYB obligations and reporting

KYB obligations extend throughout the lifecycle of the business relationship. Institutions are required to:

• Keep corporate documentation and ownership information up to date
• Review changes in shareholders, directors, or control structures
• Reassess risk where there are material changes to the business profile
• Monitor activity for consistency with the stated purpose of the relationship

Suspicious activity involving legal entities must be reported promptly to CENTIF Burkina. KYB records and supporting documentation are generally required to be retained for at least ten years after the end of the business relationship.

Operational challenges in practice

Compliance teams operating in Burkina Faso and across WAEMU jurisdictions commonly face:

• Fragmented or outdated corporate registry information
• Limited transparency around complex ownership structures
• Manual KYB workflows that are difficult to scale
• Inconsistent documentation standards across jurisdictions

These challenges often translate into supervisory findings where institutions cannot clearly explain how KYB conclusions were reached or maintained over time.

Technology as an enabler of KYB effectiveness

Digital KYB tools are increasingly used to centralise corporate documentation, support ownership analysis, and structure periodic reviews. In regional operating models, solutions like VOVE ID are typically used to standardise KYB workflows across jurisdictions while maintaining audit-ready records and consistent documentation standards.

Final considerations

KYB in Burkina Faso is a core supervisory priority within the WAEMU AML/CFT framework. Regulators increasingly assess whether institutions genuinely understand their corporate customers, their ownership and control structures, and the risks they present over time.

By combining robust KYB procedures with appropriate technology compliance teams can strengthen transparency, reduce operational friction, and meet supervisory expectations in Burkina Faso and across West Africa.