By 
Matters eRising with Olusegun Oruame
Africa’s Financial Independence: A Dream Deferred for Over 60 Years
More than six decades after Africa lowered colonial flags and raised its own, the continent remains tethered financially to the very systems it sought to escape. Political independence came early. Economic and financial freedom, however, have remained painfully elusive.
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Nowhere is this contradiction more glaring than in how Africa pays for trade; even trade with itself.
When Madam Chioma in Nigeria buys fabric from Madam Marian in Ghana to turn into fashion products for export to Madam Alice in Kenya, the transaction must first take a long detour through Europe or America. For the privilege of trading within Africa, she loses between 10 and 30 percent of the transaction’s value. The payment is dollar-denominated, processed by foreign financial institutions, slow, opaque, and completely outside her control.
This is not trade. It is modern financial subjugation.
The High Cost of Trading with Ourselves
African leaders understand this paradox. Africa pays more than any other region in the world to do business, even with itself. For years, summits echoed with speeches about ending dependency, yet political will remained weak and policy pathways uncertain.
The result? A continent rich in resources but bleeding value through foreign payment rails. A continent where African currencies rarely meet each other without a dollar acting as gatekeeper.
But history quietly shifted on July 7, 2019, in Niamey, Niger.
PAPSS: The First Real Break from Financial Colonialism
At the 12th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, African leaders took a decisive step. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) was born not as rhetoric, but as infrastructure.
PAPSS was designed to do what Africa had never done before: allow Africans to trade in their own currencies, with each other, in real time. It was also envisioned as the financial backbone of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
By January 13, 2022, PAPSS moved from concept to reality. Launched by the African Union and Afreximbank, it became a continent-wide real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system for cross-border payments in local currencies. It was an audacious and overdue intervention.
PAPSSCARD: When Financial Sovereignty Became Tangible
Then came a moment that deserves more attention than it has received.
On June 27, 2025, at the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja, Africa unveiled PAPSSCARD, the continent’s first Pan-African card scheme.
This was not just another payment card. It was a declaration.
Developed through a partnership between Afreximbank, PAPSS, and Mercury Payment Services (MPS), PAPSSCARD allows Africans to make fast, secure, and affordable retail payments across borders without leaving the continent.
For Madam Chioma, this changes everything.
Instead of losing up to 30 percent of her transaction value, PAPSSCARD reduces the cost to below 3 percent. Transactions are processed within Africa. Data stays in Africa. Value circulates within African economies.
This is what financial dignity looks like.
Why This Matters for AfCFTA and African SMEs
PAPSS and PAPSSCARD are not abstract policy tools; they are survival mechanisms for African businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
AfCFTA, despite early hiccups, now connects 54 African countries, creating the world’s largest free trade area with 1.2 billion people. But free trade cannot thrive on broken payment systems.
PAPSS delivers:
- Instant payments (typically under 120 seconds)
- Local currency settlement—no forced dollar conversion
- Lower transaction costs
- Access via banks, mobile apps, and branches
- Improved transparency and regulatory oversight
This is how trade scales. This is how confidence grows.
Africa and the Caribbean: A New Financial Bridge
The vision is already expanding beyond Africa. In late 2023, CARICOM central banks adopted PAPSS, opening a new corridor for Africa–Caribbean trade. This signals a future where the Global South builds its own financial highways and on its own terms.
As of mid-2025, PAPSS operates in 18 African countries, with rapid expansion expected as PAPSSCARD adoption accelerates.
COMESA’s Digital Retail Payments Platform: Deepening the Momentum
Subregional blocs are also stepping up.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a Digital Retail Payments Platform (DRPP) in collaboration with PAPSS. Designed to support 21 member states, the platform enables cross-border payments in local currencies, bypassing the US dollar entirely.
Launched in October 2025, the DRPP is currently undergoing live trials between Malawi and Zambia, with phased expansion planned.
Its promise is powerful:
- Transaction costs below 3 percent
- Near real-time settlement
- Greater inclusion for SMEs and informal traders
Not Yet Uhuru, But the Path Is Clear
This is not yet Uhuru. Africa still faces structural, political, and institutional challenges. But with PAPSS, PAPSSCARD, and platforms like DRPP, something fundamental has changed.
Africa is no longer begging for access to global financial systems. It is building its own.
This is not a rejection of the world. It is an insistence on interdependence, not dependency. Africa is rewriting its financial destiny; quietly, deliberately, and finally on its own terms.
And this time, the numbers, the platforms, and the people are aligned.
