The 8 member states are part of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, and the wider reaching Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), agreed in late 2019 to drop the use of the CFA franc and replace it with the newly formed of Eco. The Eco would have a new EUR pegged valuation, which has gone unchanged since 1994. Six other countries; Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, which comprise the Central Africa Economic and Monetary Union, also use the CFA franc.

The member states of the ECOWAS have a combined population of over 130 million people and the use of the CFA franc throughout the region have benefited from low inflation and low volatility relative to other African countries. The reserve buffer is not the only value proposition that offers the region stability. France guarantees CFA franc convertibility at a fixed rate and agrees to lend the Central Bank of West African States in the event there are foregin exchange liquidity concerns. These support measures come at a further cost with mandatory representation by the French treasury on the Central Bank of West African States board and has direct statutory input on monetary policy, although largely viewed as not substantive.

In January 2020 the countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone issued a communication condemning the WAMEU move to unilaterally rename the CFA franc the Eco and migrate from the CFA franc policy adherence. Unlike their anglophone counterparts throughout Africa, much of the demand in West Africa is domestic in nature. In 2019 the United Nations expected West Africa GDP growth of 3.6% in 2020, but that was well prior to Covid-19, which to date has not affected the immediate region with any voracity, and a migration away from the long standing France supported CFA franc. These disruptions can surely have a negative impact, but it may also boost a floating currency which historically encourages industrialisation and help boost the production of manufactured goods. The larger concern of higher interest rates and currency volatility throughout North and South Africa, may also be concerning for the central banks.