Cross-border payments in Africa remain among the most expensive in the world, despite the rapid growth of instant payment systems across the continent.
Sending $200 to another African country can cost as much as 7.9 per cent, more than double the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target of three per cent. This comes even as Africa’s cross-border payments market, valued at $329 billion in 2025, is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2035.
Experts say fragmented regulations, inconsistent policies and heavy reliance on the US dollar continue to hinder efforts to create cheaper and more efficient payment systems across Africa.
“Retail digital cross-border payments are essential for Africa’s economic future because they unlock opportunities for financial inclusion, economic integration and sustainable growth across the continent,” said Sabina Mensah, deputy chief executive officer of the AfricaNenda Foundation, during a meeting with journalists in Abidjan in July.
“Yet today, the key barriers include a lack of regulatory certainty, fragmented digital financial services policies and regulations, and limited cross-border financial services provider licences,” she said.
Africa has made significant progress in developing instant payment systems. There are currently 36 domestic instant payment systems and three regional systems operating across the continent. Many already have the technical capability to support cross-border transactions.
The regional platforms include the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which operates across West Africa and parts of East and Southern Africa; the Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) system in the Southern African Development Community; and GIMACPAY, which serves the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.
Central Banks push harmonisation
Despite the growing payment infrastructure, major regulatory obstacles remain. Central banks across Africa have yet to align policies on licensing, foreign exchange controls, know-your-customer requirements and other regulatory issues that affect cross-border payments.
Recent efforts to address these challenges have been led by the Association of African Central Banks (AACB), whose members broadly agree that central banks should drive harmonisation because they oversee monetary policy and banking regulations.
At its general assembly in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in November 2025, the AACB adopted Resolution 21, directing its Task Force on Payment System Integration to lead continent-wide harmonisation efforts, with technical support from AfricaNenda.
The task force faces a complex agenda. Consumers want payment services that are affordable, seamless and reliable, while providers must navigate data localisation requirements, restrictions on cloud storage, rigid exchange-rate frameworks and limited cross-border licensing arrangements. Together, these challenges have slowed efforts to connect Africa’s payment systems and reduce transaction costs.
Dollar dependence remains major constraint
While instant payment systems have made transferring money faster, experts say speed is not the main challenge. The deeper constraint is settlement and liquidity.
Many cross-border transactions still rely on the US dollar as an intermediary currency. At the same time, African currencies are often difficult to exchange directly, and few mechanisms exist for countries to settle payments with one another in local currencies.
As a result, central banks, commercial banks and payment providers must work together to strengthen regional settlement arrangements. Expanding local-currency settlement options would reduce costs, improve efficiency and make it easier for businesses to trade across borders.
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Experts say a practical way forward is to enable domestic instant payment systems to receive cross-border payments and gradually connect them through existing regional networks. This approach would avoid the delays and costs associated with building an entirely new continental payment architecture while leveraging infrastructure already in place.
Payment scheme operators, regulators and industry stakeholders should prioritise pilot projects and live payment corridors that can demonstrate the model end-to-end, including pricing, regulatory compliance and customer experience. If successful, such initiatives could help create a more integrated and inclusive African payments ecosystem.
