PAPSS Records 1,000% Surge as Africa’s Cross-Border Payment Network Expands.

Africa’s push to build a more integrated digital economy is gaining momentum as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, PAPSS, records a 1,000 percent increase in transaction volumes and expands its network to more than 30 countries across the continent.

The dramatic growth is strengthening the case for an African payment infrastructure capable of allowing businesses and individuals to move money across borders using African currencies, reducing dependence on international payment systems and expensive foreign-exchange conversions.

PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III disclosed the latest figures during a media briefing in Lagos, saying the platform now connects 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers, and 16 payment switches. Through strategic partnerships, its wider network has a termination footprint covering more than 300 financial institutions.

Transaction Volumes Are Rising Rapidly.

The scale of PAPSS’s growth is particularly striking because the system is still relatively young.

Between comparable periods in 2025 and 2026, transaction volumes increased by approximately 1,000 percent, while the value of transactions rose by about 120 percent. Nigeria, one of the system’s most active markets, recorded an even larger increase in transaction volumes of roughly 1,100 percent, alongside a 125 percent rise in transaction value.

The figures suggest that African businesses are increasingly willing to use regional payment infrastructure when it offers faster and cheaper alternatives to traditional cross-border transactions.

For a continent where businesses frequently face expensive currency conversions, delays in international transfers and fragmented financial systems, that shift could have major implications for intra-African trade.

More Countries Are Joining the Network.

PAPSS has expanded considerably during 2026, with around 10 additional countries joining its ecosystem during the year. The platform expects further expansion before the end of 2026.

Its ambition is not simply to connect banks. PAPSS is attempting to build a continent-wide payment ecosystem that allows businesses to transact across national borders while reducing the friction created by Africa’s multiple currencies and financial jurisdictions.

The system currently offers the PAPSS Instant Payment System, the PAPSS African Currency Marketplace and PAPSSCARD. Additional products are also being tested and are expected to be announced later this year.

That expansion is closely connected to the broader objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area. A single African market cannot function efficiently if businesses still face major obstacles when paying suppliers, receiving money from customers or settling transactions across borders.

Lower Costs Could Change African Trade.

One of PAPSS’s strongest selling points is the potential reduction in transaction costs.

According to figures presented by Ogbalu, PAPSS transactions have generated cost savings of between 92 and 95 percent per transaction. Processing times have fallen by as much as 99.99 percent, while foreign-exchange requirements can be reduced by up to 80 percent.

If those efficiencies can be maintained as transaction volumes increase, the impact could be particularly significant for small and medium-sized African businesses.

Large corporations have traditionally had greater access to international banking networks and financial services. Smaller companies, however, often struggle with the cost and complexity of cross-border payments.

A faster and cheaper regional payment system could make it easier for a small manufacturer in Ghana to pay a supplier in Nigeria, for a Kenyan company to settle a transaction with a partner in Tanzania, or for a Cameroonian business to serve customers elsewhere on the continent.

PAPSS Enters Its Next Phase.

Ogbalu said the first phase of PAPSS focused on building infrastructure, connecting institutions and establishing trust. The next phase, beginning in 2027, will focus increasingly on activating the existing network and driving much larger transaction volumes.

That transition could prove more difficult than building the infrastructure itself.

Connecting banks is one challenge. Convincing millions of businesses, consumers and financial institutions to use the system routinely is another.

PAPSS therefore plans to work more closely with banks, fintech companies, payment switches and other financial technology providers to integrate its services into the platforms that Africans already use.

The objective is to make regional payments less of a specialised financial service and more of an everyday part of African commerce.

The Bigger Opportunity Is Intra-African Trade.

Africa’s fragmented payment landscape has long been one of the obstacles to greater intra-African trade. Businesses can face high transaction costs even when they are trading with countries geographically close to them.

PAPSS offers a different model: build the payment infrastructure around African markets rather than forcing African transactions through financial systems designed primarily for international trade.

The rapid increase in PAPSS activity suggests that the market is beginning to respond.

The next test will be whether the platform can sustain its growth, expand into more countries and turn rising transaction volumes into broader economic benefits.

If it succeeds, PAPSS could become more than a payment platform. It could become one of the critical pieces of infrastructure supporting Africa’s digital economy and the continent’s ambition to make cross-border trade faster, cheaper and increasingly African.