In 2023, real-time payment initiatives continued to broaden across Africa with modernised payment infrastructures promoting the delivery of fast, inclusive, and convenient payments, according to the Bank of Ghana’s Payment Systems Oversight Annual Report 2023.

The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which was launched in 2022 to promote cross-border real-time transfers across countries in the sub-region, went live in 2023.

The platform plays a critical role in transforming Africa’s payment systems landscape by facilitating fast, secure, and convenient payments for intra-African trade, the report noted.

It said Ghana recorded its first transaction on PAPSS in March 2023, where a Ghanaian company initiated a supplier payment in the local currency – the Ghana cedi – from a commercial bank to a recipient in Nigeria who received it instantly in its local currency – the Naira.

South Africa launched “PayShap”, a real-time fast payment platform to offer its citizens a faster, more convenient, and safer form of payment.

This was a collaborative effort driven by BankservAfrica, the Payments Association of South Africa and the South African banking community to modernise the payments industry in South Africa.

The objective is to facilitate real-time payments at a lower cost across all banks.

Furthermore, the use of mobile money continued to rise during the year under review and remained the most dominant form of digital payments in Africa.

The use of QR code as a form of contactless payment continued to increase, thereby providing convenience to retailers and customers.

The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) model, which enables individuals to buy goods and pay for them later, was also on the rise in Africa, particularly among the youth.

In Ghana, most of these innovations were driven by FinTech companies in collaboration with banks and other financial institutions to provide convenience to customers.