The African Union, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and AfCFTA have inaugurated the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), thereby making it available for use by the public.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that PAPSS is a cross-border, financial market infrastructure enabling payment transactions across Africa.
The commercial launch of PAPSS, which took place in Accra, Ghana, virtually and physically, would ensures instant or near-instant transfers of funds between originators in one African country and beneficiaries in another.
Speaking at the event, Mr Mike Ogbalu, CEO of PAPSS, said that the feat was a step forward in the continent’s collective journey towards self-reliance.
“A journey that is leading us to the prosperous Africa of our dreams as espoused in the African Union’s Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want.
“Our progress on this journey has as its guiding lights a clear shared vision and unity of purpose. But this, like every journey also requires critical infrastructure to accelerate the fundamental elements that will underpin a prosperous continent.
“A prosperous continent is a trading continent; a continent that builds and retains wealth from its goods and services.
“Governments, businesses, and individuals consume goods and services which they obtain in exchange for value. The fundamental means by which value is exchanged or traded is through payments.
“The more efficient payment systems are, the higher the velocity of value exchange and consequently, the higher the volume and value of trade and our subsequent prosperity.
According to him, at a continental level, establishing an efficient payment infrastructure will go a long way to eliminate the artificial borders that have divided the continent and robbed us of our shared prosperity.
On some of the benefits of a Pan-Africa payment and settlement system, he said that it would be the enabling infrastructure to spur the growth of intra-African trade and commerce.
“This is with the active participation of central banks, financial institutions, regional economic communities, private sectors, and other stakeholders.
“Payment infrastructure has existed at both national and sub-regional levels for a while.
“These systems, however, lack interoperability, fragmented national and regional payment systems cannot stimulate pan-African economic development and intra-African trade at the pace required to significantly increase the percentage of trade amongst African countries.
“These national and regional payment systems have made a good start, bringing about significant modernisation within their jurisdictions.
“It is paramount that we now integrate all of Africa financially to hasten the pace of economic growth in the continent,’’ Ogbalu said.
