Intra-Trade Alliance Formed Between Onafriq and PAPSS Announced
In the heart of Africa, a groundbreaking collaboration between Onafriq, a Pan-African payments company, and the Pan-African Payments Settlement System (PAPSS) is transforming the landscape of cross-border transactions.
The partnership, currently in an active pilot phase in Ghana, is a strategic move to streamline and localize cross-border payments across the continent. The initiative, which started in mid-2025, aims to expand its reach beyond Ghana, targeting West Africa and the African continent as a whole.
Dare Okoudjou, CEO of Onafriq, Mike Ogbalu, CEO of PAPSS, and Ike Aneson, Country Director of Onafriq for Gambia and Ghana, were present at the event discussing the partnership's potential.
One of the key benefits of this partnership is the operational pilot and regulatory approval. The Bank of Ghana has given its seal of approval for the pilot, which is designed to monitor transaction volumes, user adoption, and foreign exchange performance, particularly focusing on outbound cross-border payments from Ghana.
The service promises to enhance financial inclusion and economic integration within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region and beyond. By simplifying and speeding up cross-border transactions, it aims to promote intra-African trade, lower transaction costs, and remove barriers created by differing national borders.
Technological and operational safeguards are another crucial aspect of the partnership. Onafriq's systems adhere to ISO 27001 and 27701 standards, with AI-driven fraud detection and real-time compliance monitoring enhancing cybersecurity and trust in transactions.
The partnership also focuses on improving access for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and retail users, including those in the informal sector, who often face challenges in cross-border financial operations. By incorporating mobile money wallets, fintech, and traditional banking partners, the partnership broadens access to financial services.
Cost efficiency and transparency are also key priorities. By using PAPSS’s settlement infrastructure—backed by the African Export-Import Bank—partners benefit from more transparent exchange rates and reduced transaction fees, addressing key obstacles like high costs and unclear currency conversions.
The partnership's scalability and continental ambition are evident in its plans to expand to cover all 54 African markets, leveraging Onafriq’s presence in 43 countries and PAPSS’s growing integration efforts. Success depends on regulatory approvals from other African central banks.
The PAPSS system, developed to address challenges faced by corporations and conglomerates operating across multiple African countries, including currency incompatibilities, was launched by Afreximbank in collaboration with the African Union in 2019. Morocco's recent joining of the PAPSS network increased the total number of African countries on the platform to 17.
Notable countries currently integrated into the PAPSS system include Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Djibouti. The live payment demonstration at the event showed how users on the MTN platform can initiate cross-border payments, sending funds from a wallet in Ghana to a wallet in Nigeria.
The process involves dialing *170# on mobile devices, selecting "Money Transfer", choosing Cross Border transfer, and selecting Onafriq as the payment provider. This partnership is poised to significantly improve intra-African financial connectivity and inclusion, particularly benefiting SMEs and informal traders across West Africa and the continent.
The partnership between Onafriq and PAPSS, currently in a pilot phase in Ghana, intends to enhance finance and economic integration within the West African region and the African continent as a whole. The collaboration focuses on cost efficiency and transparency, using PAPSS’s settlement infrastructure to provide more transparent exchange rates and reduced transaction fees.
The service, designed to simplify and speed up cross-border transactions, aims to promote intra-African trade, lower transaction costs, and remove barriers created by differing national borders. This could significantly improve intra-African financial connectivity, particularly benefiting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and informal traders.
