Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is preparing to enter a new phase of growth focused on accelerating adoption, expanding transaction volumes and making cross-border payments more accessible across Africa.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III said the platform now operates in more than 30 African countries across all five regions of the continent. Its network connects 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers, and 16 switches, while strategic partnerships provide a termination footprint covering more than 300 financial institutions.
Around 10 additional countries joined the PAPSS ecosystem during 2026, with further expansion expected before the end of the year. The growth builds on the platform’s initial phase, which focused on developing infrastructure, connecting financial institutions and establishing confidence in the system.
PAPSS has also recorded significant growth in usage. Between comparable periods in 2025 and 2026, transaction volumes across the network increased by approximately 1,000 per cent, while transaction values rose by around 120 per cent.
Nigeria has been a major contributor to this growth, recording an approximately 1,100 per cent increase in transaction volumes and a 125 per cent increase in transaction values over the same period.
The platform says PAPSS transactions have delivered cost savings of between 92 and 95 per cent per transaction, alongside a 99.99 per cent reduction in processing time and up to an 80 per cent reduction in foreign exchange requirements.
PAPSS enables cross-border payments through participating financial institutions, including transactions using African currencies. The system is designed to connect payment ecosystems that have historically operated largely within national and regional boundaries.
As it moves into its next strategic phase from 2027, PAPSS plans to focus on deeper market activation, greater customer awareness, priority payment corridors and broader availability through participating financial institutions.
The platform currently offers three major solutions: the PAPSS Instant Payment System, PAPSS African Currency Marketplace and PAPSSCARD. Additional solutions are also being piloted and are expected to be announced later in 2026.
The next stage of the platform’s development will be discussed at PAPSS COWRY 2026, the organisation’s annual payments conference, scheduled for 26 and 27 November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and co-hosted with the National Bank of Ethiopia.
PAPSS says the objective of its next phase is to translate the infrastructure and network already established into broader everyday use, enabling African businesses and individuals to participate more easily in opportunities across the continent.
