PAPSS Explained: Africa's Unified Payment Settlement System
A primer on the most important payments project on the continent — and why it changes the math for every cross-border fintech.
Fatima Diallo
Cashat team
Until very recently, sending money from Nairobi to Dakar meant routing it through New York or London. Two African accounts, two African banks, and somehow a US correspondent earning the spread. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, or PAPSS, was built to end that absurdity.
What PAPSS actually is
PAPSS is a real-time gross settlement infrastructure that allows African banks and fintechs to settle cross-border payments in local currencies, without first converting to USD or EUR. It is operated by Afreximbank and integrated with the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Why it matters for builders
- Settlement times drop from days to seconds.
- FX cost compresses dramatically — sometimes by 80% or more.
- Compliance is harmonised across participating central banks.
Cashat is integrating with PAPSS as a settlement layer beneath our consumer and merchant products. The user will never see PAPSS. They will just notice that sending money to Dakar feels exactly like sending money to a neighbour.
