Intra-trade alliance formed between Onafriq and PAPSS announced
In a significant stride towards streamlining cross-border payments and transactions within the African region, the Pan-African Payments Settlement System (PAPSS) has partnered with Onafriq, a Pan-African payments company. This collaboration is set to facilitate intra-trade across the continent, making it easier for businesses to operate across borders.
Launched as a pilot in Ghana in mid-2025, the Onafriq-PAPSS partnership is already benefiting cross-border payments in West Africa and Africa broadly. The system enables faster, cheaper, and more secure transfers directly to mobile wallets and bank accounts, enhancing financial integration and inclusion.
One of the key advantages of the PAPSS system is cost reduction. By bypassing costly correspondent banking fees, which can range from 10% to 30%, PAPSS can lower transaction costs to as little as 1%. This potential savings could amount to about $5 billion annually in foreign currency outflows for Africa. Onafriq leverages this to offer economical payments for businesses and individuals.
Speed and convenience are another significant benefit. With increased interoperability among banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators, transactions become faster, enhancing small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) ability to do business regionally.
The expansion to mobile money platforms and fintech wallets broadens financial access for a wider range of users, including individuals and entrepreneurs across Africa, supporting economic activity and personal connections across borders.
The partnership also boosts intra-African trade by simplifying cross-border payments, fostering greater economic integration. This aligns with the African Union’s vision for a unified financial market.
The six-month pilot in Ghana, approved by the Bank of Ghana, is monitoring transaction volumes, adoption rates, and exchange rate performance to refine and expand the service further across the continent’s financial infrastructure.
The PAPSS system, developed in collaboration between Afreximbank and the African Union, has been in operation since its launch in 2019. The recent integration of Morocco brings the total number of African countries on the platform to 18. The system was launched in response to the needs of businesses operating across Africa, aiming to facilitate intra-trade across the region.
At a recent event, Dare Okoudjou (CEO of Onafriq), Mike Ogbalu (CEO of PAPSS), and Ike Aneson (Country Director of Onafriq for Gambia and Ghana) discussed the partnership. A live demonstration involved a payment sent from a wallet in Ghana (Cedis) to a wallet in Nigeria, which was received in the local currency of Naira.
In conclusion, the Onafriq-PAPSS collaboration is pioneering a transformative payments ecosystem in Africa by enabling cross-border transactions that are cost-effective, fast, and inclusive, thus reducing barriers to trade and financial services within West Africa and beyond.
The Onafriq-PAPSS collaboration leverages technology to streamline finance within the industry, particularly cross-border transactions, offering a more affordable way for businesses to operate, with potential savings of up to $5 billion annually in foreign currency outflows. This partnership, aligning with the African Union’s vision, aims to boost industry growth by simplifying payments, thus fostering greater economic integration and financial inclusion across Africa.
