Banking
Tunisia Joins Nigeria, Others to Adopt PAPSS
By Adedapo Adesanya
Tunisia, through its central bank, Banque Centrale de Tunisie (BCT), has joined the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), making it the first North African country and 13th country to be boarded on the platform.
PAPSS, developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, facilitates real-time settlement of intra-African trade and payments, in African currencies, across the continent.
The platform unites central banks from across Africa and seeks to address the existing challenges faced by African businesses and individuals in accessing efficient and cost-effective cross-border payment services.
Launched two years ago, PAPSS has steadily expanded its footprint in Africa, now establishing itself in four regions. This network includes six in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) region (Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone), three in East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda, and Djibouti), and three in Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi). Tunisia is now its first North African member.
It is part of efforts to strengthen its commitment to promoting seamless cross-border payment services and enhancing financial integration across the African continent.
Tunisia joins PAPSS under the commercial bank settlement model that was introduced last year at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana.
By adopting this model, BCT will preserve its foreign currency reserves and promote the use of the Tunisian Dinar for cross-border payments with the rest of Africa. This strategic move will undoubtedly enhance the value of its currency shortly and significantly decrease reliance on foreign currencies.
With this development, the Tunisian commercial banks can now commence their onboarding process onto the PAPSS system.
According to a statement from Afreximbank, BCT’s membership in PAPSS signifies the bank’s determination to foster economic growth and development within the country and the African region.
“This value-adding collaboration will allow Tunisian businesses and citizens to benefit from enhanced payment efficiency, reduced transaction costs, and more opportunities to trade and pay with other African countries,” the statement added.
Commenting on this landmark achievement, Mr. Marouane El Abassi, Governor of Tunisia’s central bank said that the inclusion of BCT in the PAPSS system demonstrates the country’s commitment to regional integration within the African continent at an economic and financial level.
He further stated that this initiative supports the Government’s efforts, led by the Ministry of Commerce, to integrate Tunisia into the AfCFTA.
In 2022, BCT also joined the inter-Arab payment and settlement System (BUNA), in continuation of its commitment to the country’s strategic priorities.
Additionally, Mr El Abassi called upon banks and the Post Office to join this efficient and cost-effective alternative mechanism to better support Tunisian economic operators in their transactions across the African continent.
He emphasised the importance of opening new commercial opportunities with Africa and expanding Tunisia’s presence in this promising market.
The Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS Mr Mike Ogbalu III emphasised the significance of Banque Centrale de Tunisie joining PAPSS.
“We are thrilled to welcome Banque Centrale de Tunisie as our thirteenth member and first Central Bank in North Africa. Their inclusion highlights the growing recognition of PAPSS’s transformative role in simplifying cross-border payments on the continent.
“As PAPSS continues to expand its membership base, we are encouraged by the commitment of central banks in facilitating trade and investment flows within Africa. This represents another step towards realizing our collective aspirations for an integrated African market.”
Also commenting on the signing, Mrs Ben Rejeb, Minister of Trade & Export Development emphasized the significance of joining a platform that can facilitate integration into the formal sector, enhance intra-African exports, and reduce transaction costs and processing times.
“As the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) continues to attract more countries, we are witnessing a growing belief among Africans in their abilities and potential to drive the development of the continent through their initiatives.
“At Afreximbank, we have unwavering confidence that PAPSS will revolutionize the payment landscape within Africa, ultimately benefiting our people. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Banque Centrale de Tunisie for their trust and decision to join the PAPSS network, as it signifies a significant step towards achieving our shared goals,” added Mr George Elombi, Executive Vice President of Afreximbank.
Afreximbank anticipates that more central banks will join the platform throughout the current year.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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