Abuja, June 22, 2023: Ecobank Group and the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the settlement of cross-border transactions of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A statement on Wednesday said the MOU was signed during the opening ceremony of the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said the MoU was to facilitate settlement of cross-border transactions of the Ecobank Group including the transactions of all its subsidiaries, through PAPSS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said PAPSS was established by Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe PAPSS is a financial market infrastructure that provides a secure and efficient channel for processing cross-border payments, ensuring speed, affordable cost, and reliability to facilitate intra-African trade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said during the ceremony, PAPSS also introduced the Commercial Bank Settlement Model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201d It is a new settlement model which offers the commercial banks a window to open and fund their settlement accounts at Afreximbank and manage their own liquidity according to their banking needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said by leveraging the capabilities of PAPSS, Ecobank affiliates in 33 countries with over 32 million customers, would streamline and expedite the transfer of funds while ensuring transparency and compliance under the regulator\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said in addition, the partnership aligned with the African Union\u2019s vision of promoting intra-African trade and economic integration through enhanced financial connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy leveraging their combined expertise, Ecobank and PAPSS are poised to contribute to the growth and development of the African economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement quoted Mr Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, as saying \u201cpartnerships such as the one we have signed on PAPSS are essential for the delivery and success of the AfCFTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awori said the partnership with PAPSS was also for the financial integration and economic development of the African continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are committed to the success of PAPSS and are pleased to bring on board our payments and collections expertise from our African coverage of 33 markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis partnership ensures that all partner banks and PAPSS can expand their reach rapidly and enable greater and wider intra-African trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, we begin to change and rewrite the narrative of low intra-African trade by removing the barrier to efficient and instant payments and collections in African currencies,\u201d Awori said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive Officer, PAPSS, was quoted as saying \u201chaving the cooperation of Ecobank Group, one of the major banks in Africa, is a huge honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut more importantly, it shows that PAPSS is the payment system that will transform the way that people in Africa conduct cross-border transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo this end, I appreciate the bank\u2019s management for having faith in PAPSS,\u201d he said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statement said the MoU would be put into effect gradually in partnership with the Central Banks in the countries where Ecobank Group operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said customers in Africa would be informed through the usual channels of communications as soon as the service becomes available in their countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe PAPSS and Ecobank Group will be working towards making this service available as from January 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abuja, June 22, 2023: Ecobank Group and the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the settlement of cross-border transactions of the group. A statement on Wednesday said the MOU was signed during the opening ceremony of the 30th Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1366,949,125],"tags":[424],"class_list":["post-51039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-economy","category-finance-money","tag-ecobank","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"yoast_head":"\n