The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is entering a rapid expansion phase, positioning itself as core infrastructure for Africa’s trade ambitions under the African Continental Free Trade Area, its chief executive has said.
Speaking on the AfCFTA Podcast, PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III said the platform has moved beyond its pilot phase and is now scaling across the continent, with 20 countries already live and more expected to join before the end of the year.
He noted that PAPSS currently connects about 160 commercial banks and 14 payment switches, including national switches, and has recorded transaction growth of more than 2,000% year-on-year.
“We have gone through the phase of infancy and now we are at that acceleration stage,” Ogbalu said, adding that onboarding the two main francophone central banks in West and Central Africa could extend coverage to an additional 14 countries.
PAPSS, backed by Afreximbank and developed with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union Commission, allows cross-border payments to be settled instantly in local currencies. The system is designed to reduce dependence on hard currency and correspondent banks outside the continent.
Ogbalu said transactions that previously took days now take an average of seven seconds, including compliance checks such as anti-money laundering and sanctions screening.
He pointed to the impact on small traders operating across borders, particularly in West Africa, where delays and cash-based payments have long constrained trade volumes and business growth.
Africa’s intra-continental trade remains low, estimated at 15% to 18% of total trade. Ogbalu said inefficient payment systems have been a major structural barrier.
“Trade does not happen without payments,” he said. “If Africa’s trade depends on a payment system that is not controlled by Africa, then Africa does not control its trade.”
He said PAPSS was built to global financial market infrastructure standards but remains under African central bank oversight, allowing transaction decisions to be made on the continent.
The system also cuts costs by avoiding traditional payment routing through offshore financial centres, a process that has historically raised fees and slowed settlements for African businesses.
While early adoption focused on banks, PAPSS is increasingly integrating fintech firms and regional platforms, including North Africa’s BUNA system, to extend access to digital wallets and small businesses.
Ogbalu said banks are already seeing commercial benefits, with PAPSS improving their ability to serve pan-African clients and boosting transaction volumes.
Beyond Africa, PAPSS has been selected to support the development of a similar payment system in the Caribbean, with plans to eventually link both regions.
The next phase, he said, will focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which still rely on cash for cross-border trade.
For his hope for the payment system, he said, “I’m hoping that within five years, 80% of commercial payments on the continent will be processed through PAPSS.”
