Image: forextime.com / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System says volumes rose about 1,000% year on year, with Nigerian volumes up about 1,100%, and that it now connects 24 central banks and more than 200 banks and payment providers.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) reported that its transaction volumes grew by about 1,000% and values by about 120% between 2025 and 2026, in a statement issued in Lagos on 11 September 2026 through Afreximbank. Nigeria recorded volume growth of about 1,100% and value growth of about 125%. Techtrends Kenya reported the figures on 17 September 2026.
Network size
According to the statement, PAPSS now reaches more than 30 African countries, with 24 national and regional central banks, more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers, 16 switches, and a termination footprint of more than 300 financial institutions. About 10 countries joined in 2026. PAPSS claims cost savings of 92% to 95% per transaction and a reduction of up to 80% in foreign exchange requirements for users. Its products are the PAPSS Instant Payment System, the PAPSS African Currency Marketplace and PAPSSCARD, with new solutions in pilot.
Chief executive Mike Ogbalu III said the system was moving from Phase 1, focused on building infrastructure, to a Phase 2 from 2027 focused on activating the network, deepening adoption and scaling transactions. The PAPSS COWRY 2026 conference will be held in Addis Ababa on 26 and 27 November with the National Bank of Ethiopia.
What the figures do not show
The statement gives growth rates but not absolute volumes or values, so the size of the base cannot be judged. It also does not break out corridors, which would show how much of the Nigerian growth involves West African counterparts rather than other regions.
Why it matters
For Nigerian banks and fintechs, PAPSS participation sits within the Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and payments rules, including the new Foreign Exchange Manual. Businesses using PAPSS to pay suppliers in other African currencies still need to meet documentation, repatriation and anti-money laundering requirements in each jurisdiction, and should check how settlement finality and chargebacks are treated in participant agreements. As adoption grows, questions will follow on liability allocation between PAPSS, central banks and participant banks when payments fail, and on whether the African Currency Marketplace’s pricing becomes a reference for trade contracts denominated in local currencies. Counsel drafting intra-African supply contracts may begin to see PAPSS named as a payment channel, with consequences for currency clauses and force majeure provisions.
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