Firms to Build Payment Gateway between Africa & Arab Region
ADDIS ABABA – The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BUNA, the cross-border and multi-currency payment system owned by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF).
PAPSS is operated by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
The latest collaboration lays the foundation for the interoperability between PAPSS and BUNA payment systems, said its officials who announced the agreement on Tuesday.
Their participants will be able to make transactions in their local currencies between the African continent and the Arab region, according to Afreximbank.
Prof Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank and Chairperson of PAPSS Management Board, said the MoU with BUNA is another important step that PAPSS has taken after its commercial launch.
“The Arab World and Africa have a long history of trade relations and the PAPSS-BUNA partnership will further facilitate the growth of trade between the two regions,” said Prof Oramah.
“The integration will provide banks across Africa and the Arab World with a seamless and one-stop center to help their clients transfer value to their counterparts in either region.”
PAPSS is aggressively expanding its footprints across Africa with 8 central banks, 6 switches and about 25 of the largest commercial banks on the continent.
By joining PAPSS, banks enable their customers to trade within Africa.
Central banks joining the PAPSS infrastructure extends the collective reach of the payment system to millions more, with the resultant positive impact on intra-African Trade.
The collaboration between PAPSS and BUNA will further these benefits to the Buna network and vice versa.
BUNA’s move to establish interoperability with PAPSS “increase the value it brings to its participants,” said Abdulrahman Al Hamidy, Director General of the Arab Monetary Fund.
Featured Image Caption: President of Afreximbank and Chairperson of PAPSS Management Board Prof Benedict Oramah [Photo File]
