World
PAPSS to Help Africa Save $5bn Yearly in Payment Transaction Costs
By Adedapo Adesanya
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat have announced the commencement of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate trade across the continent.
A brainchild of the African Union (AU), the PAPSS is a financial market infrastructure to enable instant, cross-border payments in local currencies among African markets launched two years ago which was conceived as a necessary option for accelerating regional trade as envisaged by AfCFTA.
According to the Cairo-based Afrieximbank in a statement, by simplifying cross-border transactions and reducing the dependency on hard currencies for these transactions, PAPSS is set to boost intra-African trade significantly and underpin the implementation of AfCFTA.
PAPSS will serve as a continent-wide platform for the processing, clearing and settling of intra-African trade and commerce. It is expected to leverage a multilateral net settlement system.
The statement said its full implementation will save the continent more than $5 billion in payment transaction costs each year.
The platform was developed by Afreximbank, who also acts as the main settlement agent in collaboration with central banks of participating countries.
The unveiling of the system came after a successful pilot of the countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). The unveiling was described as an important milestone for the continent’s efforts to boost trade among African countries.
The statement disclosed that PAPSS was in advanced discussions with other national and regional institutions to rapidly expand wider connectivity.
To accelerate scalability, Afreximbank said it has approved $500 million to support the clearing and settlement in WAMZ countries, adding that an estimated $3 billion would be made available to support its continent-wide implementation.
The President of Afreximbank and Chairperson of PAPSS Management Board, Mr Benedict Oramah, said PAPSS implementation would enable Africa to leverage AfCFTA for mutual gains.
“Afreximbank is proud to have contributed to the realisation of the multi-decade dream that seemed unachievable just a few years ago. PAPSS is not positioned to replace existing regional and national payment systems but to collaborate and work with them in better integrating African economies for the benefit of all,” he said.
On his part, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, Mr Wamkele Mene, said: “The implementation of the agreement establishing the AfCFTA will improve intra-Africa trade, necessitating in this regard, the establishment of a payment system to facilitate affordable and efficient cross border trade transactions.
“It is on this basis that the AfCFTA Secretariat strongly supports the development of PAPSS that will usher in a new phase in the African economic trajectory.
“The introduction of PAPSS provides Africa with greater capacity to conduct cross-border transactions and expand the scale of both active and latent opportunities for enhanced intra-African trade,” Mr Mene stated.
Adding his input, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, said: “PAPSS has been brought about by our collective desire to facilitate and accelerate the growth of intra-African trade.
“With central banks working actively together alongside the Afreximbank, we are ushering in a new phase in Africa’s economic trajectory, in keeping with the ideals of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“The introduction of PAPSS provides central banks with greater transparency and control as we now have a single window into all cross-border transactions emanating from our various jurisdictions and across the continent.”
PAPSS was launched on July 7, 2019, in Niamey, Niger, at the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the Assembly of the AU who adopted it as a key instrument for the implementation of AfCFTA.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The global markets are experiencing relief as the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, have agreed to slash tariffs on each other, to ease effects of a trade war.
Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary, Mr Scott Bessent told reporters that the two sides had reached a deal for a 90-day pause on measures.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said so-called reciprocal tariffs were now at 10 per cent each.
Business Post reports that in real terms, the deal means the US is reducing its 145 per cent tariff announced by President Donald Trump to 30 per cent on Chinese goods.
A tariff of 20 per cent had been implemented on China when President Trump took office over what his administration said was a failure to stop illegal drugs entering the US.
China has agreed to reduce its 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs to 10 per cent on US goods.
Sector-specific tariffs, such as the 25 per cent tax on cars, aluminium and steel, remain in place.
Last month, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tarrifs. However, China was the only country exempt from the pause on the retaliatory tariffs above the base 10 per cent levies.
The development had impacted many markets across the world from stocks to oil to bonds and minerals.
Mr Bessent said after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland, the countries had a mechanism for continued talks.
It is the second major trade announcement made by the US in the last week, after a deal was secured with the United Kingdom on Thursday.
The move signals a willingness from the Americans to make deals on tariffs.
The news was received positively by major markets.
Brent crude is currently up 2.9 per cent to $65.78 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up 3.1 per cent to $62.91 a barrel.
Asian stock markets on Monday as major indexes were up. In China, the Shanghai Composite stock index rose 0.8 per cent, the Shenzhen Component gained 1.7 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up nearly 3 per cent.
Korea’s Kospi grew 1.1 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8 per cent while India’s Nifty 50 index of most valuable companies gained more than 3 per cent, as per Sky News.
CNBC reports that US stocks look set to rise on the open, based on after-hours trading. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq is expected to rise by 3.3 per cent, and the S&P 500 index of companies relied on to be stable and profitable by 2.5 per cent.
Mr Bessent also said, “As long as there is good faith effort, engagement and constructive dialogue, then we will keep moving forward,” in response to questions from journalists.
The market will await further developments and possible ease to recent headwinds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new pope of the Catholic Church has been revealed as Robert Prevost of the United States, the first American pontiff in history.
Following his emergence, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Voting commenced on Wednesday, and after three rounds of black smoke, white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening.
This is the signal that cardinals had selected a new pontiff on the second day of the conclave.
Prevost, age 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and served as a Bishop in Peru. He most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
There were 133 voting cardinals, who had all been sequestered inside the Vatican during the conclave. Any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope.
“Peace be with you all,” said Leo XIV in his first remarks as pope.
“This is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God,” he said, explaining the choice of his greeting. “And I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and our families.”
Leo XIV looked visibly emotional as he waved to the adoring crowd in the square below the balcony.
A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.
Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.
By Dipo Olowookere
A white smoke was seen from the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican City on Thursday evening, signalling the election of a new pope for the Catholic Church.
This is coming a few days after the previous occupier of the position, Pope Francis, was laid to rest after he died on Easter Monday of 2025 at the age of 88 after an illness.
At the moment, the name of the new pope has not been announced. This would be done later by Cardinal Dominique Mamberti from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
About 133 Cardinals partook in the process of electing a new pope, the largest in history, with 103 of them doing this for the first time.
On Wednesday, the Conclave could not finalise the election of a new pope, with a black smoke emanating from the the Sistine Chapel.
Details later…
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