Afreximbank chief pushes PAPSS adoption to cut Africa’s dollar dependence

…says expansion hinges on central banks’ support

George Elombi, president of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has called on African central banks to accelerate adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), saying broader participation is critical to reducing the continent’s reliance on the U.S. dollar for cross-border trade and lowering transaction frictions within the continent’s fragmented financial system.

Speaking during a meeting with editors in Abuja, Elombi said resistance from some monetary authorities had slowed the rollout of the continent-wide payments platform, despite its growing use across African markets.

“The central banks didn’t understand what PAPSS was supposed to do. They thought it was going to take over their regulatory functions,” Elombi said. “But PAPSS exists. It is functional. It has to exist. How else would we trade if we do not have a payment mechanism?”

PAPSS, launched by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, enables businesses and financial institutions to settle cross-border transactions in local currencies, reducing dependence on correspondent banks and hard currencies such as the dollar.

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Elombi’s push for wider its adoption comes as most cross-border payments within Africa continue to be routed through correspondent banks outside the continent and settled in U.S. dollars or other hard currencies, raising costs and exposing businesses to foreign exchange shortages. Afreximbank estimates the system could save Africa more than $5 billion annually in transaction costs

Elombi likened the payment platform to other trade infrastructure such as ports, railways and pipelines, arguing that an integrated payments system is indispensable for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

He said the platform has already demonstrated practical benefits by allowing businesses to settle transactions directly in local currencies, citing Ethiopian Airlines’ operations as an example of how companies can avoid sourcing dollars to complete regional transactions.

According to Elombi, PAPSS now has participation from commercial banks across 28 African countries, although wider adoption depends on regulatory approval from national central banks. More than 190 commercial banks have joined the platform, but he said that number remains far below Afreximbank’s target.

He explained that Afreximbank redesigned the settlement model after recognising that relying solely on central banks to provide foreign currency liquidity created bottlenecks.

The current framework allows participating commercial banks to settle transactions directly while remaining under the oversight of their respective central banks.

Elombi dismissed concerns that PAPSS could undermine monetary authorities, insisting the system was designed to complement, rather than replace, existing regulatory frameworks.

He also downplayed the long-term threat posed by cryptocurrencies to Africa’s payments landscape, arguing that payment systems backed by sovereign institutions would remain the foundation of cross-border commerce.

“We don’t think so. Payments are going to remain payments,” he said, referring to cryptocurrencies. “Stablecoins, maybe, because they are supported by something concrete. The rest, if they are not properly supported by assets, confidence will be lost.”

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While acknowledging the growing adoption of digital assets, particularly stablecoins, Elombi said Africa’s long-term priority should be building interoperable regional payment systems that could eventually pave the way for greater monetary integration across the continent.

Beyond payments, Elombi urged African countries to move up global value chains by processing critical minerals locally instead of exporting raw materials, saying the global transition to electric vehicles presents a rare opportunity for industrialisation.

Fresh from a visit to China, where he toured battery manufacturing facilities and industrial hubs, Elombi said the future of global manufacturing is increasingly centred on electric batteries, data centres and advanced processing industries.

He argued that Africa possesses both the mineral resources and financial capacity to participate in the emerging value chain but continues to lag in technical expertise.
“We have the resources. We have the money to do it. What we don’t have is the expertise,” he said, adding that Africa should prioritise investments that build local manufacturing capabilities for battery materials rather than exporting raw lithium and other critical minerals.

Elombi said Afreximbank’s financing strategy increasingly focuses on supporting projects that process minerals within Africa, reflecting a broader shift away from funding extractive industries that simply export raw commodities.

He argued that investors seeking Afreximbank’s support should demonstrate plans to establish processing facilities alongside mining operations, creating jobs, developing technical skills and retaining more value within African economies.