Partner profile: Payments
Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS)
Financial market infrastructure for instant cross-border payments across Africa, settled in local currencies between participating central banks.
Type
Pan-African financial market infrastructure
Headquarters
Cairo, Egypt
Sponsors
AfCFTA Secretariat & Afreximbank
Launched
January 2022 (commercial)
About
PAPSS enables traders to pay and be paid in local currencies, with real-time settlement between participating African central banks. It removes the need for USD intermediation and shortens settlement from days to seconds.
Role in AfCFTA (mock summary)
- Designated settlement layer for AfCFTA cross-border transactions.
- Connected to central banks across multiple AfCFTA regions.
- Operated as a public good for African trade integration.
- Interoperable with participating commercial banks and switches.
Mock summary: simplified for the demonstrator
Funder & governance notes (mock)
PAPSS is championed by the AfCFTA Secretariat and Afreximbank, with the latter acting as clearing and settlement agent. For this demonstrator, no funding flow to the Gateway or to any specific transaction is represented.
NoteReference demonstrator. PAPSS name and partnership content are shown for illustrative purposes. The role summary, funder notes and governance descriptions are mock and not endorsed by PAPSS, Afreximbank or the AfCFTA Secretariat. No commercial relationship is implied.