By Evans Edebor

Intra-African trade has historically struggled—not because of a lack of goods or willing buyers—but due to a complex, costly, and fragmented payment system. At the heart of this challenge lies the overreliance on external currencies like the U.S. dollar to settle transactions between African nations.

CBN mandates banks to adopt PAPSS for cross-border African payments

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), an Afreximbank-backed initiative, was designed to change this. The original vision was simple yet ambitious: make it possible for Africans to trade with each other using only their local currencies. But despite the dream, the back-end of the system still relied on the very foreign currencies it sought to bypass. That’s where this new chapter begins.

Recognizing the contradiction, PAPSS onboarded , a blockchain technology firm, to help design a truly capable of settling directly in African currencies. Together, they’ve developed a , simulating fiat-pegged stablecoins like the to facilitate local currency transactions across borders.

Here’s how it works: instead of converting local currencies to dollars or euros before completing a trade, this platform allows African businesses and institutions to directly settle in their local units, using digital representations of their currency. In short, it eliminates the need for third-party currencies, enhances liquidity, and restores a degree of sovereignty to Africa’s monetary systems.

The marketplace isn’t theoretical. In fact, , Afreximbank piloted the platform in . Following a successful test, the ecosystem has now grown to include as of mid-2025. Notably, major African institutions such as , , and are already utilizing the platform to move funds across borders—highlighting a quiet revolution in how money is moved across African economies.

Aa for intra-African trade finance and digital infrastructure. Here are :

1.) This new marketplace will enable secure, transparent, and real-time trading of African fiat currencies.

2.) The platform is designed to , simplifying cross-border transactions.

3,) It solves one of Africa’s biggest trade bottlenecks: to forex for intra-African payments.

4,) The marketplace connects , enabling them to post buy/sell bids on a trusted digital ledger.

5.) This innovation boosts and reduces costs for businesses and traders.

6.) It adds to currency exchange processes through the immutability of blockchain.

7.) By lowering barriers to convertibility, the platform makes it easier for to access wider regional markets.

8.) The innovation aligns perfectly with and financial integration.

9.) It minimizes dependence on USD or EUR for trade between African countries — saving billions in annual fees.

10.) Blockchain integration makes it , encouraging fair competition and stronger governance.

11.) PAPSS now plays a , unlocking powerful synergies for trade.

12.) This marketplace will , eliminate time lags in payments, and across the continent.

Africa just took another bold leap into the future of finance and trade. With PAPSS leading on infrastructure and innovation, . #AfCFTA is happening — and it’s smarter, faster, and proudly African.

Evans Edebor | Evangelist | Empowering 1 Million Women & Youth-Led MSMEs across Africa by 2035 for AfCFTA Success