At the inaugural Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) COWRY 2025 Participants Forum, held in Lagos recently, Access Bank displayed leadership in advancing cross-border payments as a way of promoting cross-border trade and business in Africa.
The Forum brought together policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, and payment experts to explore pathways toward “Building an interoperable and sovereign African payment ecosystem for trade and economic growth.”
In alignment with the theme, discussions emphasised the importance of resilient, interoperable, and sovereign African payment infrastructure that empowers businesses, supports SMEs, and strengthens intra-African trade under the AfCFTA.
Designed to facilitate instant, secure, and efficient cross-border transactions in local African currencies, PAPSS reduces dependency on third-party currencies, enhances settlement efficiency, and promotes regional economic integration.
Access Bank, through its AccessAfrica initiative, plays a leading role in this evolution. AccessAfrica enables fast, secure, and affordable payments across more than 20 African corridors.
During the forum, Access Bank representatives Naco Bolote, Head of International Remittance & Paymentsfor African Subsidiaries, and Aminat Olatunji, Unit Head of Remittances actively contributed to conversations on the emerging settlement landscape and the future of continental financial integration.
“The progress made with PAPPS reinforces Access Bank’s commitment to real-time settlement and financial integration across Africa, and we remain dedicated to collaboration and innovation, ensuring Africans can move money quickly, reliably, and at scale.” said Bolote.
Bolote also highlighted that PAPPS unlocks instant, local-currency settlement, reducing FX reliance and transaction times; combined with AccessAfrica, allows faster, predictable, and cost-efficient transfers across 20+ African countries; is live in eight Access Bank markets, with further rollouts planned for 2026.
Access Bank commended PAPSS, Afreximbank, and the AfCFTA Secretariat for their leadership in advancing the infrastructure required for a more connected, sovereign, and prosperous African economy.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System – PAPSS – enables the efficient flow of money securely across African borders, minimising risk and contributing to financial integration across the regions.
Whether shopping, transferring money, paying salaries, dealing in stocks and shares or making high-value business transactions, PAPSS’ real-time infrastructure provides a reliable, cost-effective answer for instant payments.
PAPSS works in collaboration with Africa’s central banks to provide a payment and settlement service to which commercial banks, payment service providers and fintechs across the region can connect as ‘Participants’.
PAPSS is the brainchild of Afreximbank, Africa’s pre-eminent trade finance institution, whose mission includes stimulating the expansion, diversification and development of African trade.
The key is a single payment infrastructure that cuts through the existing challenges of local currency exchange and ensures instant payment of funds.
