Guinea-Bissau at a glance
- Central bank
- BCEAO (Central Bank of West African States), shared by the eight states
- Banking supervisor
- WAMU Banking Commission
- Financial intelligence unit
- CENTIF-GB (National Financial Information Processing Unit)
- FATF-style regional body
- GIABA
- Data protection
- No dedicated law identified
- National ID document
- ECOWAS biometric bilhete de identidade, issued since 2018
- Business register
- RCCM (OHADA area); Centro de Formalização de Empresas (CFE)
- Tax identification number
- NIF (tax identification number)
- Currency
- CFA franc (XOF)
- Official language
- Portuguese
- FATF status (June 2026 plenary)
- Not under increased monitoring
- Insurance
- CIMA member
What Verita checks today in Guinea-Bissau
- Passports and MRZ documents (ICAO 9303 format), whatever the issuing country.
- The ECOWAS biometric identity card (bilhete de identidade): it can be uploaded as a generic identity document; dedicated reading (fields, number format) is set up in a pilot.
- Face match, liveness and sanctions (UN, OFAC, EU, UK) and PEP screening, as on every file.
- Businesses: automatic registry cross-checks are available for Côte d’Ivoire; for Guinea-Bissau, we scope them in a pilot.
The AML/CFT framework in Guinea-Bissau
Portuguese-speaking Guinea-Bissau is part of the WAEMU: the BCEAO and the WAMU Banking Commission supervise banks, and the CENTIF-GB receives suspicious transaction reports. GIABA adopted its mutual evaluation in February 2022. The country was not under FATF increased monitoring after the June 2026 plenary.
Verita’s interface is in French and English; it is not yet available in Portuguese.
What is set up in a pilot
Banks in Guinea-Bissau apply the same BCEAO instructions as Ivorian banks: Verita’s checks, visible reasoning and audit trail apply as they are. The national FIU’s own report format is set up in a pilot.
Personal data
Face photos and identity documents are sensitive personal data. Verita can be installed on your own servers so that this data stays inside your perimeter, and every access is logged in the audit trail.
Frequently asked questions
Does Verita read the ECOWAS biometric identity card (bilhete de identidade)?
Not with dedicated reading yet: it can be uploaded as a generic identity document, and full reading is set up in a pilot. Passports are read automatically.
Who do banks in Guinea-Bissau report suspicions to?
To the CENTIF-GB (Célula Nacional de Tratamento de Informações Financeiras). Verita prepares the report and has it approved by two people in your institution; your reporting officer sends it.
Is KYB available in Guinea-Bissau?
Automatic business-registry cross-checks are available for Côte d’Ivoire. For this country, we scope them with you in a pilot.
Can Verita be installed on our own servers?
Yes. On-premise installation is possible: documents and personal data never leave your infrastructure.
Read next
- CountriesIdentity verification (KYC) and AML/CFT in SenegalRead the page
- CountriesIdentity verification (KYC) and AML/CFT in GuineaRead the page
- SolutionsIdentity verification (KYC) for banks in Côte d’Ivoire and the WAEMU zoneRead the page
- SolutionsAML/CFT screening: sanctions, PEPs and suspicious transaction reportsRead the page
Updated 19 October 2026. The regulatory information on this page comes from public sources consulted in October 2026. It is given for guidance only and is not legal advice.