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Mr. Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System has revealed that the payment system is making rapid progress and is fully operational in thirteen African Central Banks, and is connected to over 115 commercial banks, including ten payment switches across Africa. Another 115 commercial banks are in the pipeline for connection.
“The time has come for action and acceleration. It is time to use the system to drive trade in Africa, for Africans, by Africans. We urge all banks to join us in our collective effort to promote intra-African trade and development through PAPSS,” Mr Ogbalu said.
Promoters of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), namely African Export-Import Bank, African Union Commission (AUC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, successfully organized the first Consultative Forum in Cairo, Egypt, this week.
The Forum brought together top industry executives of African commercial banks, bankers’ associations, payment switches, the association of African stock exchanges and other financial service providers.
Speaking at the Forum, Mr. Ogbalu said, the payment system is a revolutionary initiative that has the potential to significantly transform the financial and payments landscape of our continent.
“As managers of PAPSS, we are committed to ensuring it succeeds. We urge all African financial institutions to join us in transforming the way payments are done in Africa,” he added.
Participants reaffirmed their strong support to the 2019 and 2020 decisions of the Assembly of the African Union Heads of States and Governments which adopted PAPSS as the African financial market infrastructure for cross-border payments and settlements, while the 2020 decision mandated Afreximbank, AUC and AfCFTA Secretariat to urgently introduce and scale up the implementation of the payment system.
The Forum therefore provided an avenue for participants to deliberate on the successes and challenges of the PAPSS payment system and explore potential path forward on how it can be optimised to facilitate seamless and efficient cross-border payments to support the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Participants at the Forum agreed to take collective ownership of the success and the future of PAPSS given its significant and hugely positive impact on the facilitation of cross-border payments and the development of intra-African trade.
In addition, participants advocated to leverage PAPSS as a pathway to increasing the share of African currencies in intra-African trade and other cross-border payments, as well as increasing the volume of intra-regional payments for mutual benefits to drive rapid adoption of PAPSS by businesses.
It also includes embedding the payment system into their digital channels to enable ease of access and seamless integration for existing customers.