BoG working toward integrated payment systems across Africa — Asiama
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Johnson Asiama, has revealed that efforts are ongoing to integrate payment systems across Africa to make cross-border transactions easier and support regional trade.
Speaking at the 2026 ACI World Congress themed “Elevating Markets, Empowering People,” Dr. Asiama said improving interoperability among payment systems remains essential to Africa’s financial development and long-term economic growth.
According to him, while significant progress has been made in other areas of financial integration, payment and settlement systems across the continent are still underdeveloped, making intra-African transactions costly and inefficient.
He noted that transferring money between African countries is often more expensive than sending funds outside the continent, stressing the need for stronger regional payment infrastructure.
“What is lagging behind is the payments and settlements aspect. Someone says it is cheaper, for example, to send money across the oceans than it is to send money to another country within the sub-region. So yes, we have a lot of work to do to support our people,” he stated.
Dr. Asiama explained that several initiatives are currently being pursued to improve seamless cross-border transactions for businesses and individuals across Africa.
He highlighted the role of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), adding that central banks within the region are actively supporting innovations aimed at improving payment interoperability.
“PAPSS is doing its bit, we also have some other related innovations that are underway. At the level of central banks we are supporting these. We do realise that integrating payment systems across the sub-region is the right way to go indeed,” he said.
The Governor further disclosed that the Bank of Ghana is working closely with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat to explore the use of stablecoins and other digital technologies to improve cross-border payments and facilitate trade under the AfCFTA framework.
According to him, the central bank has already initiated sandbox testing environments to help develop and assess digital platforms that could support greater financial integration across the continent.
“For us we are working with AfCFTA because we realise we can use stablecoins, for example, to address the cross-border payment issue, which will support the work of AfCFTA,” he added.
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