Calls for faster financial integration across Africa are gaining renewed urgency as the African Export-Import Bank African Export-Import Bank intensifies advocacy for wider adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a platform designed to simplify cross-border trade and reduce dependence on external currencies.
At the centre of this push is George Elombi, who warned that slow regulatory buy-in from some African central banks is limiting the system’s impact despite its operational readiness and expanding footprint.
Speaking in Abuja during a meeting with editors, Elombi argued that misunderstandings about the platform’s role had initially created resistance among monetary authorities.
“The central banks didn’t understand what PAPSS was supposed to do. They thought it was going to take over their regulatory functions,” he said. “But PAPSS exists. It is functional. It has to exist. How else would we trade if we do not have a payment mechanism?”
The PAPSS initiative—developed by African Union in partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat—was created to enable real-time settlement of cross-border payments in local currencies. The system is intended to reduce reliance on correspondent banks outside Africa and limit the need for hard currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Despite these objectives, most intra-African trade payments still pass through external financial systems, increasing transaction costs and exposing businesses to foreign exchange shortages. Afreximbank estimates that broader PAPSS adoption could save the continent more than $5 billion annually in fees and inefficiencies.
Elombi likened the payment infrastructure to essential physical trade systems.
He said the platform has already begun demonstrating practical value, pointing to examples such as Ethiopian Airlines, which has reportedly been able to settle certain regional transactions without sourcing dollars.
According to him, PAPSS currently operates across 28 African countries, with participation from more than 190 commercial banks. However, he stressed that regulatory approval from central banks remains a key bottleneck preventing wider scale.
To address liquidity constraints, Afreximbank redesigned the settlement model so that commercial banks can process transactions more directly while still operating under central bank oversight. Elombi insisted the approach strengthens, rather than weakens, regulatory control.
He also dismissed fears that PAPSS could undermine monetary sovereignty, arguing instead that it complements existing financial systems while improving efficiency in cross-border trade.
Beyond payments infrastructure, Elombi broadened his remarks to Africa’s industrial future, urging governments to shift away from raw commodity exports toward local processing of critical minerals.
Fresh from a visit to China, where he toured advanced manufacturing hubs and battery production facilities, he noted that global industry is increasingly driven by electric mobility, data infrastructure, and advanced materials processing.
“We have the resources. We have the money to do it. What we don’t have is the expertise” he said, stressing the need for Africa to invest in technical capacity and value-added production rather than exporting raw lithium and other minerals.
He added that Afreximbank’s financing strategy is evolving to prioritise projects that include domestic processing facilities, arguing that such investments are key to job creation, industrial growth, and long-term economic resilience.
On digital currencies, Elombi took a cautious but pragmatic stance. While acknowledging the rise of stablecoins, he expressed scepticism about unbacked cryptocurrencies shaping the future of payments.
“We don’t think so. Payments are going to remain payments” he said, referring to cryptocurrencies. “Stablecoins, maybe, because they are supported by something concrete. The rest, if they are not properly supported by assets, confidence will be lost.”
For Afreximbank, the message is increasingly clear: Africa’s trade future depends not only on infrastructure for goods, but also on financial systems capable of moving value across borders without external dependency.