Pan-African Payment System Smashes Settlement Times to 12 Seconds as Trade Integration Gains Momentum

CEO Mike Ogbalu details how PAPSS is transforming African trade by slashing payment times and removing the need for foreign third-party currencies in 2026.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 11, 2026, 6:26 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from LEADERSHIP News

Accelerating the Velocity of Continental Financial Flows

The digital infrastructure underpinning African commerce has reached a significant milestone as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) reports a dramatic reduction in transaction latency. Speaking at the Access Bank’s Africa Trade Conference 2026, CEO Mike Ogbalu revealed that while the platform guarantees a 120 second window for cross-border settlements, the network is currently averaging just 12 seconds in practice. This speed represents a fundamental shift in how capital moves across the continent, offering businesses a near-instant mechanism for liquidity that was previously hindered by bureaucratic and technical delays.

Bypassing the Global Circuit for Local Settlements

A primary objective of the PAPSS initiative is to eliminate the inefficient routing of African funds through foreign correspondent banks in Europe or North America. Historically, a payment moving between two neighboring African nations often traveled halfway across the globe before returning to the continent, a process that inflated costs and extended timelines. According to Ogbalu, this legacy arrangement placed African markets at a systemic disadvantage. By keeping these transactions internal to the continent, the platform preserves capital and ensures that African financial growth is no longer tethered to the infrastructure of external economies.

Currency Sovereignty and the End of Dollar Dependency

One of the most transformative aspects of the system is its ability to settle trades using local African currencies, effectively removing the need for third-party "hard" currencies like the US Dollar or Euro. This currency marketplace allows for direct exchange, providing a vital solution for companies that have previously struggled with trapped funds in foreign markets. Ogbalu noted that some businesses were once forced to convert earnings into physical assets like real estate simply because they could not repatriate cash efficiently. The new system provides a liquid, direct path for earnings to return to a company's home base in their preferred local tender.