Accra, Ghana | June 20, 2025
In a significant step toward realising the vision of a financially interconnected Africa, Onafriq and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) have launched a new cross-border payment service in Ghana. The service, currently in its pilot phase, enables outbound transactions to neighbouring African countries and promises faster, more secure, and cost-effective payment flows — particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals engaged in cross-border trade.
This launch marks the operationalisation of a strategic partnership between the two entities that was initiated in 2022. Their shared goal is to address the long-standing challenges of fragmented financial systems across Africa and to contribute meaningfully to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agenda by improving payment interoperability and reducing the cost of doing business across borders.
“This service is not just about convenience; it brings people together and enhances economic activity between Ghana and the region,” said Dare Okoudjou, Founder and CEO of Onafriq. “We are dedicated to making financial services accessible to everyone and are proud to be at the forefront of this transformation. African borders are starting to matter less; this is Onafriq’s goal.”
How It Works
The service enables partner banks connected to PAPSS and Onafriq’s authorised network — which includes fintech companies, mobile money providers, and traditional financial institutions — to offer seamless cross-border payments to their customers. Funds can be sent directly into recipients’ mobile wallets or bank accounts, removing the inefficiencies and opacity often associated with foreign remittance services.
This model has the potential to significantly reduce transaction fees, increase transparency of exchange rates, and integrate the often overlooked informal cross-border trade flows into the formal economy. The initiative places particular emphasis on enabling smoother retail and SME transactions, sectors that are vital to the African economic engine but typically underserved in financial innovation.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our journey towards a more integrated financial landscape in Africa,” said Mike Ogbalu III, CEO of PAPSS. “Our partnership with Onafriq represents a commitment to empowering SMEs and individuals by simplifying cross-border transactions. We believe this service will help reduce the liquidity burden on participants while fostering financial inclusion across the region.”
Settlement Backbone and Regulatory Oversight
Settlement of transactions under this pilot is managed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the principal settlement agent of PAPSS. This ensures trusted and timely clearing between participating banks and financial service providers.
The six-month pilot phase — approved by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) — will allow stakeholders to gather data on transaction volumes, user behaviour, and system performance. Crucially, the pilot will also test how exchange rate variations are managed across jurisdictions to provide users with fairer conversion rates and better visibility.
A Milestone for Financial Inclusion and Trade Integration
The significance of this development extends well beyond financial technology. Intra-African trade has long suffered due to limited access to real-time payment infrastructure, reliance on hard currencies such as the US dollar for regional transactions, and the fragmented nature of African financial regulations. The PAPSS–Onafriq solution takes a direct aim at these bottlenecks by creating a pan-African infrastructure for settlement and offering fintechs and banks a chance to operate more efficiently across borders.
“The beauty of this initiative lies in its practicality,” said a fintech industry analyst. “Rather than waiting for continental integration to happen through policy alone, this is a private-public initiative that immediately improves the lives of people — especially small traders, freelancers, and rural communities.”
What Comes Next
After the pilot period in Ghana, both PAPSS and Onafriq are expected to expand the service to additional markets across West, Central, and East Africa. The long-term ambition is to link up national payment systems and digital wallets into a single interoperable network that mirrors the success of other continental platforms like the EU’s SEPA.
As digital financial services continue to boom across Africa, partnerships like this one may prove decisive in defining how the continent trades, banks, and grows over the coming decade.
🔗 Source:
“Onafriq Partners with PAPSS to Launch Cross-Border Payment Services in Ghana” — Future Finance News, June 20, 2025
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