…says expansion hinges on central banks’ support
George Elombi, president of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has called on African central banks to accelerate adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), saying broader participation is critical to reducing the continent’s reliance on the U.S. dollar for cross-border trade and lowering transaction frictions within the continent’s fragmented financial system.
Speaking during a meeting with editors in Abuja, Elombi said resistance from some monetary authorities had slowed the rollout of the continent-wide payments platform, despite its growing use across African markets.
“The central banks didn’t understand what PAPSS was supposed to do. They thought it was going to take over their regulatory functions,” Elombi said. “But PAPSS exists. It is functional. It has to exist. How else would we trade if we do not have a payment mechanism?”
PAPSS, launched by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, enables businesses and financial institutions to settle cross-border transactions in local currencies, reducing dependence on correspondent banks and hard currencies such as the dollar.
