The Chief Executive Officer of Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), Mike Ogbalu, has said that intra-African payments processed on the continental platform now take an average of 12 seconds, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with cross-border transactions on the continent.
Ogbalu disclosed this while speaking on the role of payments in advancing trade and economic integration in Africa at the Access Bank’s Africa Trade Conference 2026.
Noting that the platform was created to remove longstanding barriers that have slowed commerce among African countries, he said the payment system guarantees that cross-border transactions are completed within 120 seconds, but in practice the network has been recording much faster settlement times.
“Today you are able to initiate a payment in Nigeria and it will arrive in the beneficiary’s account in no more than 120 seconds. However, since we went live, we have been averaging about 12 seconds,” he said.
He explained that the initiative was designed to address the structural challenges that have historically made intra-African payments slow and expensive, with many transactions routed through foreign correspondent banks before returning to the continent.
Ogbalu noted that such arrangements increased transaction costs and placed Africa at a disadvantage despite having some of the world’s fastest growing markets. “If a payment originates in one part of Africa and is going to another part of Africa, it should not have to travel halfway around the world before coming back to Africa,” he said.
He added that the PAPSS platform enables payments to originate in one African currency and settle in another, allowing businesses and individuals to trade without relying on third party currencies.
The PAPSS chief stressed that the system was built to support the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to create a single market of about 1.4 billion people across the continent.
According to him, payments remain a critical pillar of the continental trade agreement because a functional market requires buyers, sellers, rules of trade and a reliable payment mechanism. He explained that Africa’s fragmented financial systems, including more than 50 currencies and numerous payment structures, have historically hindered cross-border trade.
“Africa has 54 different currencies, different ways of processing trade and multiple central banks. All the odds were stacked against us, so we needed to create a payment system that would ensure Africans are able to trade with each other,” he said.
Ogbalu further revealed that the PAPSS network currently operates in 20 African countries, connecting more than 170 commercial banks, fintech firms and about 16 payment switches across the continent.
He said the system was designed to complement existing regional payment infrastructures rather than replace them, enabling interoperability across different markets.
The PAPSS platform, he added, currently provides three key services including an instant payment system, a currency marketplace that allows corporates to exchange African currencies directly, and a card scheme aimed at reducing the cost of domestic and cross-border card transactions.
Ogbalu said the currency marketplace has already helped businesses overcome the challenge of trapped funds in foreign markets, with some companies previously forced to hold assets such as real estate due to difficulties repatriating earnings.
He maintained that faster and cheaper payments would boost trade by giving businesses greater confidence to expand into new African markets. “Payments power our lives and our commerce. When payments become efficient, affordable and fast, they expand markets and increase the velocity of trade,” he said.
He also acknowledged the role of commercial banks in the growth of the platform, noting that financial institutions remain central to connecting businesses and customers to the network. According to him, stronger collaboration between banks, fintech firms and payment infrastructure providers will be key to unlocking the full potential of intra-African trade.
