Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, Deny Denya
The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is expected to have its pilot program completed by the end of 2021, has said.
As part of efforts to digitize payments and ease transactions under the African Continental Free Trade Area for member countries, PAPSS is being developed under the supervision of the African Export-Import Bank.
Providing updates on the payments system at the 2021 Intra-Africa Trade Fair Roadshow held in Accra last week, Denya said that some six African countries including Ghana were currently undertaking the pilot phase.
“The Pan African Payment and Settlement System has already been built. We are piloting the system in the West African Monetary Zone. The countries there, including Ghana, are already doing the piloting. So as soon as the results are positive, we will then roll it throughout the continent. The piloting will end before the end of this year,” Denya told journalists.
“PAPSS is run under the Central Bank governance, and they would make the decision. As soon as they are happy with the system, an announcement will be made in conjunction with the AfCFTA,” he added.
The PAPSS is anticipated to minimize the financial cost of cross-border trade and improve financial integration as well as boost intra-African trade and investment competitiveness.
The system will for example allow a small trader group in Ghana to freely import goods from Sierra Leone, using the Ghana Cedi without making that purchase in a third currency. The system will also reduce the cost and time of doing business.