Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia Test Interoperable Cross-Border Payment System

Ghana, Rwanda, and Zambia are currently testing a unified digital trade corridor designed to enable instant cross-border payments across African financial systems. This initiative represents a significant step in the continent's broader effort to decrease dependence on external banking intermediaries and establish interoperable, Africa-owned financial infrastructure, aligning with the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ghana's Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, highlighted the project's significance at the 3i Africa Summit in Accra on May 6, stating, "Economic sovereignty in the twenty-first century is inseparable from digital sovereignty." This reflects a growing policy trend across African financial systems, where payment infrastructure is increasingly viewed as strategic economic architecture.

Traditionally, businesses moving money across African borders have relied on correspondent banking systems routed through financial centers outside the continent. This process often resulted in multi-day delays, numerous currency conversions, and substantial transaction charges that eroded profit margins for traders. The new Ghana-led pilot aims to eliminate these frictions by facilitating direct settlement between local currencies through interoperable payment systems within a shared digital framework.

The project is being integrated with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), an African Union-backed payment rail designed to reduce reliance on dollar-mediated transactions and external correspondent banking. Afreximbank data indicates PAPSS already connects 17 African countries, 14 national switches, and over 150 commercial banks, enabling near real-time settlement. This system allows payments in local currencies while clearing centrally, mitigating foreign exchange volatility and settlement delays. The initiative directly addresses the high cost of cross-border transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa, which remains the world's most expensive region, with average remittance costs at 8.46% and bank-led transfers nearing 15%, according to the World Bank.

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Economic sovereignty in the twenty-first century is inseparable from digital sovereignty.