The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is entering a transformative new phase aimed at drastically scaling transaction volumes and accelerating adoption across the African continent.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III outlined the platform’s shift from foundational infrastructure building toward deep market activation and widespread commercial usage.

Since its official public launch in 2022 as a vital instrument to support the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), PAPSS has rapidly expanded its footprint. The platform now operates in over 30 countries across all five African regions, connecting 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers (PSPs), and 16 switches. Through strategic partnerships, its reach extends to a termination footprint of over 300 financial institutions.

Around 10 additional countries joined the network in 2026 alone, with further onboardings slated before the end of the year.

“The first phase of PAPSS has been about building, connecting, and establishing trust,” Ogbalu stated during the briefing. “As we move into our next phase from 2027, our focus will increasingly shift towards activating that network, deepening adoption, and taking transaction growth to scale.”

Historically, intra-African trade faced massive inefficiencies due to a heavily fragmented financial architecture. Prior to PAPSS, over 80% of cross-border payment transactions originating from African financial institutions had to be routed offshore, primarily through European or North American correspondent banks, for clearing and settlement.

This legacy dependency created significant structural bottlenecks for businesses across the continent:

  • High Transaction Costs: Routing payments through third-party foreign currencies (such as USD or EUR) added unnecessary conversion markups and intermediary fees, costing the continent an estimated $5 billion annually in transaction friction.
  • Settlement Delays: International clearing routes often caused payments to take several days to settle, tying up liquidity for merchants and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).
  • Foreign Exchange Drain: Businesses were forced to secure scarce foreign hard currency simply to trade with neighbouring African countries, putting immense pressure on national central bank FX reserves.

By enabling direct, local-currency-to-local-currency settlement, PAPSS eliminates the need for overseas correspondent banks, allowing African businesses to trade seamlessly across borders in their home currencies.

The strategic shift toward market activation comes on the heels of unprecedented system usage growth. Comparing equivalent periods between 2025 and 2026, network-wide transaction volumes surged by approximately 1,000%, while transaction values rose by 120%. Nigeria has played a pivotal role in this momentum, recording an 1,100% surge in transaction volumes and a 125% increase in transaction values over the same timeframe.

Beyond raw transaction numbers, the operational benefits for commercial institutions and end-users participating in cross-border trade have proven substantial:

  • Cost Efficiency: Transaction cost reductions ranging between 92% and 95%.
  • Processing Speed: A 99.99% reduction in payment processing times compared to traditional correspondent banking routes.
  • Capital Optimization: Up to an 80% reduction in foreign exchange (FX) requirements by settling cross-border trades directly in local African currencies.

“The growth we are seeing demonstrates that the infrastructure is working and that demand is increasing,” Ogbalu added. “The next opportunity is to make these benefits available at much greater scale by working more closely with banks, fintechs, switches, and other partners to bring PAPSS into the channels businesses and individuals use every day.”

Developed under the auspices of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Union (AU), PAPSS currently offers three core solutions designed to bypass traditional clearing friction:

  1. PAPSS Instant Payment System (IPS): Enables real-time cross-border retail and commercial payments across participating institutions.
  2. PAPSS African Currency Marketplace (PACM): Facilitates local currency convertibility, treasury management, and liquidity matching between central and commercial banks.
  3. PAPSSCARD: Launched in partnership with Mercury Payment Services (MPS) as the continent’s first dedicated pan-African card scheme, allowing consumers and businesses to execute cross-border card transactions without relying on global card rails.

Additional payment solutions are actively being piloted and are scheduled for public announcement later in 2026. Looking ahead, PAPSS will prioritize targeted customer awareness campaigns, the activation of high-volume trade corridors, and deeper integration with instant payment switches (such as Kenya’s PesaLink and national switch systems across regions) to make cross-border transfers accessible straight from mobile banking apps.

The next major milestone for the platform will take place at PAPSS COWRY 2026, its annual flagship payments conference. Co-hosted with the National Bank of Ethiopia, the event will gather central bankers, fintech leaders, and commercial lenders in Addis Ababa on November 26–27 to chart the next phase of African trade integration.