The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) plans to connect with the largest payment system in China and India by the first quarter of next year, as its transaction volumes grew by more than 1,000 per cent year-on-year.

At a media parley in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, Mike Ogbalu III, said the planned integrations form part of the system’s second phase, which is focused on deepening its operations and linking Africa’s payment infrastructure with major global markets.

“By the first quarter of next year, PAPSS expects to be connected to the largest payment system from China and have the Indian payment system live on its platform, while integrations involving Brazil and other countries are expected later next year,” he said.

The planned global connections come as PAPSS expands its African network, having connected 30 countries and targeting about 38 countries before the end of 2026, representing about 26 to 27 central banks.

The payment system has also connected about 200 financial institutions and more than 60 switches across Africa, including 10 national switches.

Ogbalu said transaction volumes on the platform had grown by more than 1,000 per cent compared with last year, while the value of transactions had increased by more than 125 per cent.

According to him, PAPSS has reduced the time required for cross-border payments from between three and five days to as low as seven seconds, representing a 99 per cent reduction, while cutting payment costs by as much as 95 per cent.

The system is also reducing Africa’s dependence on third-party currencies through its multilateral net settlement model, under which between 80 and 90 per cent of transactions, depending on the market and level of adoption, are settled in local currencies.

Under the model, only the net balance between countries needs to be settled in a third currency.

For instance, where transactions worth $10 million move into Ghana from Nigeria while $9 million flows from Ghana into Nigeria, only the $1 million net balance needs to change hands.

Ogbalu said increased adoption was pushing dependence on third-party currencies for intra-African transactions closer to zero.

He pointed out that PAPSS had now entered its second phase after completing its initial rollout, with the focus shifting from expanding its geographical spread to increasing adoption, developing new services and connecting the platform with global payment systems.

Ogbalu added that the system was targeting 80 per cent coverage of Africa’s major economies in the near term and full continental adoption within the next five years.