Africa's own payment system PAPSS says transaction volumes have grown about tenfold this year
Payments between African countries now settle in under two minutes and cost 85–90% less, its deputy chief executive says, crediting Nigeria's central bank for a big push.
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Lagos — Transaction volumes on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) have grown by about 1,000% on average this year, its deputy chief executive, John Sebabi, told the Nigerian newspaper BusinessDay.
PAPSS lets businesses and individuals pay each other across African borders in their own currencies, instead of routing money through dollars and foreign correspondent banks. According to Sebabi, it has cut the cost of cross-border payments by 85 to 90%, and brought processing times down from one or two days to less than 120 seconds.
The system now operates in 32 African countries, with more than 280 commercial banks connected.
Nigeria's push
Sebabi credited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with much of the recent growth. The CBN allows eligible transactions below a set threshold to go through PAPSS without extra paperwork, which has encouraged trade between Nigeria and its neighbours, particularly in the West African Monetary Zone. The CBN has also approved several fintech companies to join the platform, and Nigeria has promoted PAPSS at the African Union and other regional bodies, he said.
"I have no doubt that transactions are going to flourish in the coming year," Sebabi said, pointing to large Nigerian fintechs that want to do more cross-border business.
From connection to use
The priority for 2027, he said, is to get the 32 countries and 280-plus banks already connected to send their payments through PAPSS in practice. The organisation is also in talks to widen membership in North, Central and Southern Africa, is working on a payment corridor with China, and is talking to existing regional payment systems about connecting with them rather than replacing them.
PAPSS pays sellers in their local currency and settles the net balance between countries in US dollars. It also runs a currency marketplace that matches trades between institutions so that settlement can take place directly in local currencies.
Sebabi said the biggest obstacle is still the low level of trade between African countries: many small businesses import from China, Europe and the United States rather than from their neighbours.
PAPSS holds its annual conference, PAPSS COWRY 2026, in Addis Ababa on 26 and 27 November.
Source: BusinessDay, 12 November 2026.
