Access, UBA, Ecobank, Standard Bank, KCB Embrace Afreximbank’s PAPSS

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) has announced the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with five African multinational commercial banking groups.

They include Access Bank Group, Ecobank Group, KCB Group, Standard Bank Group, and the United Bank of Africa (UBA) Group.

According to a statement yesterday, the significant partnerships aimed to revolutionise the settlement of cross-border transactions across Africa, leveraging on the vast network of subsidiaries and representative offices across major economic centres across Africa.

These MOUs were signed on Monday, 19 June 2023, at the opening ceremony of Afreximbank’s 30th Anniversary Celebrations and 30th Annual Meetings held in Accra, Ghana, recently, in the presence of Heads of State and Prime Ministers from Africa and the Caribbean, Heads of continental policy and governance institutions as well as international institutions.

“The signature of these memorandums signifies a monumental step forward in the pursuit of seamless cross-border trade payments throughout the almost 40 countries covered by these banks.

“The broad collaboration between PAPSS and African commercial banks will pave the way for enhanced efficiency, transparency, and reliability in intra-African settlement.

“The adoption of PAPSS’s cutting-edge settlement model will streamline operations and empower businesses by providing a secure and technologically advanced platform for cross-border transactions,” the statement added.

As part of the partnership, Access Bank Group, Ecobank Group, KCB Group, Standard Bank Group, and the UBA Group would collaborate closely with PAPSS to ensure seamless integration of PAPSS into their existing systems.

The collaborative effort wouldl include opening up all their African footprints for PAPSS, facilitating settlement of transactions, encouraging the participation of Fintech in PAPSS via the banks and expanding PAPSS to all the banks’ current digital channels such as mobile app banking and e-banking.

Commenting on the signing, President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, said: “the signature of these MoUs marks a remarkable step towards the realisation of the aspirations of Africa’s foreleaders, who envisioned the creation of a payment and clearing union about six decades ago.

” It also draws us closer to domesticating cross-border payments by enabling payments for cross-border trade in African currencies while strengthening African currencies. By leveraging on the vast continental coverage of these African commercial banks, PAPSS will seamlessly facilitate cross-border trade and payments and boost intra-African trade and investments”.

Also commenting on the signing, Secretary General of the AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, said: “the introduction of the new PAPSS Model for onboarding African Commercial Banks and the signing of the MoUs with the five African Commercial Bank Groups signifies a bold step towards the full operationalisation of PAPSS for the benefit of African traders and SMEs in the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.”

The Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, Mr Mike Ogbalu III, expressed enthusiasm about the collaborations, stating that, “these partnerships with Access Bank Group, Ecobank Group, KCB Group, Standard Bank Group, and UBA Group mark a significant milestone in the journey toward a more integrated and efficient African banking landscape.

“By embracing PAPSS’ Commercial Bank Settlement Model, these banks are helping build a robust continental platform for fostering cross-border payments, thereby paving the way for financial inclusion and substantial continental economic development.”

The MOUs would be put into effect gradually in partnership with central banks in the countries where the 5 Group Banks operate.

Customers of the banks in Africa will be informed through the usual channels of communication as soon as the service becomes available in their countries. PAPSS and the banks will be working towards making this service available towards year-end.