The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) have formed a strategic partnership with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Intra-Regional Payment Committee to facilitate seamless cross-border payments.
PAPSS serves as a financial market infrastructure that enables instant, cross-border payments in local currencies across African markets.
In a statement, Afreximbank announced that the parties had successfully conducted a groundbreaking Proof of Concept (PoC) for the CARICOM Payment and Settlement System (CAPSS), which is designed to replicate the PAPSS model.
CAPSS will facilitate real-time, local currency transactions across the CARICOM region.
“From February 19-21, 2025, at the Central Bank of The Bahamas, representatives from the central banks of The Bahamas, Barbados, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago, along with Afreximbank, PAPSS, and Montran Corporation, successfully tested CAPSS’s ability to process instant cross-border payments without intermediaries,” the statement from Afreximbank read.
Key benefits
The key benefits highlighted include real-time local currency transactions within CARICOM, secured Central Bank-backed settlements, and successful live tests between The Bahamas and Barbados. CAPSS aims to foster financial integration, reduce costs, and connect seamlessly to PAPSS in Africa.
Last month, Nigeria and Afreximbank signed an agreement to host the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM) in June.
The upcoming event is expected to draw between 5,000 and 6,000 delegates from across Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
The signing ceremony took place in Abuja, with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, announcing that President Bola Tinubu had approved the hosting of the event.
What you should know
- He said Nigeria is delighted to work with Afreximbank management and give them full support, highlighting Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Africa’s and Nigeria’s economic growth, particularly in improving healthcare infrastructure.
- Edun noted that one of Afreximbank’s initiatives, the African Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE) in Abuja, would reduce medical tourism by providing comprehensive healthcare services and addressing capacity gaps in the country and West Africa. The medical centre is set to commence operations soon.
- Over the past decade, Afreximbank has disbursed no less than $140 billion across Africa, bridging financing gaps left by the retreat of international banks, driving economic transformation, and reducing Africa’s dependence on commodity exports.
One of Afreximbank’s key initiatives is the African Quality Assurance Centre, which was developed to ensure Nigerian goods meet global trade standards. The bank has also developed the Africa Trade Centre in Abuja, set to be inaugurated on April 10.
