The African Export-Import Bank has intensified efforts to streamline cross-border trade across Central Africa, bringing together senior banking executives in Douala, Cameroon, this week to advance its digital payment platform, AfPAY.
The workshop, which focused on integrating the trade settlement system and strengthening compliance measures to reduce transaction costs and processing delays, forms part of Afreximbank’s approach to addressing trade settlement challenges across the continent. AfPAY connects more than 400 banks continent-wide and processed $32 billion in settlements last year.
The platform provides payment processing and institutional deposit services, operating as an alternative to existing fragmented banking systems across multiple African markets.
The Douala workshop placed particular emphasis on Afreximbank’s compliance framework, which combines rigorous know-your-customer checks, risk-based due diligence procedures and Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) protocols.
Industry experts attending the sessions emphasised that such safeguards are essential for improving transparency and trust in a region where administrative bottlenecks frequently constrain commercial activity.
As intra-African trade continues to expand, Afreximbank is preparing for a future in which digital infrastructure combined with robust oversight transforms payment obstacles into competitive advantages.
With the South African cabinet today approving the plan for the country to become a full member of Afreximbank, this interoperable future seems nearer. When the institution was established in 1993, South Africa was unable to join as a founding sovereign member due to the country’s international isolation under apartheid.
In this light, AfPay represents an opportunity for Central African economies to retain economic value within the region and across the continent.
The drive for improved cross-border payment systems reflects broader industry challenges that extend beyond speed alone. While 90% of payments on Swift’s network reach their destination within an hour, the proportion of end-to-end transactions settling within that timeframe is significantly lower due to last-mile issues, including incompatible financial systems and regulatory divergence between countries. Interoperable systems could allow for increased global trade participation and financial inclusion.
New payment networks, such as the BRICS Pay network and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), are emerging across Africa and Asia. These networks aim to settle transactions directly in local currencies and avoid routing through US dollars or euros. However, multiple regional payment systems risk creating silos that could introduce friction into the ecosystem; financial fragmentation has the potential to reduce global GDP by up to 6% by 2030.
In response, the transition to ISO 20022 messaging standards promises to enhance efficiency through richer, more structured data. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Swift GPI now enable payments to be tracked like parcels, bringing transparency to previously opaque processes.
