In Abidjan, mobile payment has taken off in most businesses, gradually becoming an essential daily reflex for many users. However, this digital transition still faces stubborn resistance, especially in transportation where two habits are at odds.
Indeed, in the Ivorian capital, drivers of Vehicles for Hire with Driver (VTC) have made these electronic transactions their primary means of daily payment. This widespread adoption meets a fundamental business requirement where every minute counts.
As explained by a driver in the field: “Out of 100 clients I transport, 90% make their payment through Wave, which suits us and allows us to refuel with this operator.”
Mobile payment facilitates fuel expenses and fund transfers among VTC drivers.
In the VTC profession, time is money. Refueling or topping up their internet data balance to stay connected with clients and navigation maps must be done instantly. The clean interface and speed of execution of Wave allow drivers to carry out these operations in a few seconds, without having to wait in long queues at physical counters.
This digital shift also structures the professional obligations of drivers, many of whom work on a lease-management basis with vehicle owners or fleet companies, or have to make periodic payments to their contractors. The use of Wave facilitates the traceability of fuel expenses and fund transfers between the various actors in the urban transport ecosystem.
The refusal of loaders and “gnambros”
Today, while VTCs have expanded their activities thanks to this initiative, the same cannot be said for loaders or “gnambros” – these informal collectors that others wrongly refer to as “syndicates” of bus stations. They reject electronic currency because they see it as an obstacle to making their clandestine profits.
An anecdote shared by a passenger illustrates this digital divide well: “Wave doesn’t suit me, if you don’t have physical money, get off,” a gnambro tells a traveler who struggled to get change for a ticket to board the bus, even though she had reluctantly offered mobile payment in the face of the station agent’s categorical refusal.
The economy of bus stations relies entirely on cash. Gnambros collect informal taxes that must be cashed in immediately and shared instantly among the various cashiers present on the ground.
Bank or mobile traceability would expose the financial flows of “gnambros”
In this logic, accepting mobile payment – Wave, Orange Money, MTN Mobile Money or any other electronic wallet – would leave an undeniable digital trace: transaction history, phone numbers, identities of recipients. For actors operating in the informal sector, this transparency would reveal flows that the opacity of cash currently allows to escape the scrutiny of authorities, regulators, and formal transport structures.
This reluctance is all the more understandable as their activity is informal and does not comply with tax legality or official municipal regulations. As summarized by a field observation: “Bank or mobile traceability would expose their financial flows to the scrutiny of authorities, regulatory platforms, or formal transport structures.”
When regulatory modernization clashes with street conservatism
At a time when central banks are embracing innovation in instant payments and cross-border payments, deploying ingenuity to modernize payment infrastructures, streamline interbank exchanges, and secure the digital ecosystem on a global scale, this revolution must still face the tough skin of habits, the conservatism of bus stations. Thus maintaining an opaque system, resistant to reforms, and firmly rooted in the era of cash-only.
