FirstBank, PAPSS and the race to own Africa’s payment rails

For decades, sending money from Lagos to other African countries was harder than sending it from Lagos to London.

A Nigerian exporter selling rice to a buyer in Ghana would pay in dollars. The naira would be converted to dollars, fly through correspondent banks in New York or London, pay fees at each stop, and land as cedis days later.

The cost was high, the time was slow, and Africa traded with itself through third party currencies and correspondence banking.

That is the problem the Pan African Payment Settlement System (PAPSS) was built to solve.

From pilot to power grid

PAPSS is a real-time, centralized financial market infrastructure which was officially launched in January 2022 by Afreximbank and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Think of PAPSS as Africa’s cross-border payment network, enabling seamless transfers between African countries in local currencies.

• The idea is simple: A trader in Nairobi pays a supplier in Lagos using Kenyan shillings, the supplier receives naira almost instantly. Neither party needs to source, hold, or receive any foreign currency.
• It now works in 28 African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Rwanda, Algeria, Egypt, Morrocco and Djibouti.
• In October 2023, the 15 CARICOM member states joined the PAPSS network, and more countries are expected to get onboard.
• The game changed for Nigerian banks on March 12, 2024, when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retired the SSA-1 model and introduced the SSA-3 model, which allows commercial banks like FirstBank to hold and fund their own USD settlement accounts with Afreximbank.

Banks provide the foreign exchange for settlement, while PAPSS handles transactions in local currencies and settles net positions across banks daily. SSA-3 enables businesses to trade at scale across the continent, opening the door to expanded growth opportunities across Africa.

Inside FirstBank’s Play

FirstBank, Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, has brought PAPSS to its LIT App, FirstMobile, and FirstOnline, enabling customers to make instant, secure, local currency-based cross-border payments across Africa with greater ease and convenience. No special onboarding required.

• A customer just needs to login to any of the channels, select PAPSS, to transact. Currently, customers can transact on digital channels up to the local currency equivalent of US$2,000 per month for individuals and US$5,000 per month for corporates, using the basic KYC and AML documentation permitted under the CBN’s PAPSS framework.
• Transactions above these thresholds can be processed through any FirstBank branch upon submission of the required foreign exchange documentation. Cost and speed remain two of PAPSS’s strongest value propositions.

With transaction fees capped at $16, the platform offers a more affordable and efficient alternative for cross-border payments within Africa. Payments are completed within minutes, in local currency and available 24/7. By eliminating correspondent banking layers, PAPSS reduces costs and delays traditionally associated with cross-border payments.

Why it matters now

As Africa accelerates efforts toward economic integration, efficient cross-border payments remain critical to unlocking intra-African trade. PAPSS addresses this challenge by enabling businesses and individuals to send and receive funds across borders in local currencies, reducing costs, simplifying transactions, and improving payment speed.

The benefits stack up fast:

• · Instant + Local: Send in naira, receive in cedis without delays. No FX needed.
• · Cheaper: A more affordable alternative to traditional cross-border payment channels.
• · Simpler: Harmonized requirements, end-to-end payment traceability
• · Bigger Market: A Nigerian SME can now sell to Kenya without worrying about settlement complexity.

For regulators, PAPSS supports financial inclusion and deeper economic integration. For businesses, it improves efficiency and profitability. For banks, it reinforces relevance in an increasingly integrated African market under AfCFTA.

The road ahead

PAPSS is not magic. Limits still exist. Documentation rules still apply above $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for corporates. And trust takes time.

Businesses used to dollars will need convincing. But the infrastructure is now live. The CBN has removed the brakes. FirstBank and others have plugged in. The platform will enhance the adoption of digital products for cross border transactions and intra-Africa trade.

In other words, Africa’s financial highways are finally being built, creating more direct routes for trade and payments across the continent.

For the trader in Kano sending goods to Kumasi, or the freelancer in Accra getting paid by a client in Lagos, that could be the difference between waiting 3 days and waiting 2 minutes.

What you should know

Last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed all banks operating in the country to adopt the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and commence originating transactions under the new framework, as part of efforts to deepen intra-African trade and improve cross-border payment efficiency.

In a circular referenced TED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/006, issued on April 28, 2025, the apex bank outlined key changes aimed at promoting greater participation by banks, exporters, importers, and individuals.

The apex bank urged exporters, importers, and individuals to familiarise themselves with the revised requirements and leverage PAPSS for their cross-border transactions, noting that the initiative will enhance financial inclusion and operational efficiency.