Promoters of the Pan-African Payment
& 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 of CEOs of
African Banks bringing together executives of African commercial banks,
bankers' associations, payment switches, the association of African stock
exchanges and other financial service providers.
Participants reaffirmed their strong support to the decisions of the Assembly
of the African Union Heads of States and Governments of 2019 and 2020. The 2019
decision 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 PAPSS.
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.
Following productive discussions, 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. Participants agreed to embed PAPSS into
their digital channels to enable ease of access and seamless integration for
existing customers.
Mr. Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive
Officer of PAPSS, stated: "PAPSS is fully operational and
making rapid progress. We have signed on thirteen African Central Banks, and
connected over 115 commercial banks, and ten payment switches across Africa.
Another 115 commercial banks are in the pipeline for connection. Our foundation
is solid, and 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."
Further commenting, Mr. Ogbalu said: "We
are pleased to see overwhelming support of this forum by the leadership of the
African financial institutions. PAPSS 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."
