Africa’s ambition to unlock the full value of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will remain constrained unless the continent gains control over how cross border payments are settled, AfCFTA Secretary General H.E. Wamkele Mene has warned.
Speaking at the inaugural PAPSS COWRY Conference, Conference on Worldwide and Regional Payment, in Lagos, Mr Mene said Africa’s continued reliance on foreign currencies and offshore payment systems inflates transaction costs, slows trade flows and weakens the competitiveness of African businesses, particularly small and medium sized enterprises.
He described the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) as a critical pillar of Africa’s financial sovereignty, noting that the platform enables instant cross border settlements in local currencies, reduces payment costs and strengthens the foundations of a more integrated continental market.
The conference, held on the theme “Building an Interoperable and Sovereign African Payment Ecosystem for Trade and Economic Growth”, brought together policymakers, central bankers, financial institutions and payment experts to examine how payment infrastructure can accelerate AfCFTA implementation.
Participants agreed that fragmented and costly payment systems remain one of the most significant non tariff barriers to intra African trade, often forcing businesses to route transactions through foreign correspondent banks and third party currencies.
Developed by Africans for Africa, PAPSS is positioned as the continent’s flagship payment platform aimed at reversing this trend. By allowing African banks to settle transactions directly in local currencies, the system seeks to improve liquidity management, shorten settlement cycles and retain more value within Africa’s financial system.
In his keynote address, PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III linked current payment inefficiencies to Africa’s colonial economic architecture, arguing that artificial borders and currency fragmentation continue to undermine trade integration decades after independence.
The President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, reinforced this concern, noting that an estimated 80 per cent of intra African transactions are still settled in non African currencies. He warned that true monetary stability and economic integration would remain elusive without African owned payment systems.
For the AfCFTA Secretariat, the message from Lagos was clear. Efficient, interoperable and sovereign payment systems are central to the success of the continent’s Single Market. Officials stressed that without seamless payments, tariff reductions alone will not deliver meaningful trade expansion.
As AfCFTA implementation gathers pace, the Secretariat reaffirmed its commitment to working with financial institutions and payment platforms to deepen interoperability across Africa, signalling that modernising payment infrastructure is now a core business and economic priority.
