African central banks are being urged to deepen their cooperation on cross-border payments to reduce costs and improve efficiency across the continent, a call that coincides with several regional initiatives to modernise payment infrastructures. The push for greater monetary authority collaboration was highlighted in a recent report from the Rwanda Dispatch News Agency, which pointed to the persistent challenges of high fees and slow settlement times for transfers between African nations. The report argues that stronger institutional coordination is essential for unlocking the full potential of intra-African trade and remittances.

This call for action aligns with concrete steps already being taken in certain monetary zones. In Central Africa, the central bank of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), which serves the CEMAC region, have signed a new cooperation agreement focused on payments and oversight. The agreement, reported by BANKABLE, aims to establish a framework for collaboration on payment systems and the supervision of cross-border financial activities between the DRC and its CEMAC neighbours, which include Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) continues to expand its instant payment system, known as PI-SPI, within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Financial Afrik published an updated list of authorised institutions for the system on March 5, 2026, reflecting the growing adoption of the platform designed to facilitate real-time, low-cost domestic transactions across the eight-member union. The development of such regional instant payment networks is often seen as a foundational step that could eventually be interconnected for cross-border use.

The drive for more efficient payments is unfolding against a backdrop of increased regulatory scrutiny on fintech operators across the continent. In Nigeria, the Senate is considering legislation to tighten the Central Bank of Nigeria’s oversight of fintech companies, with a particular focus on curbing Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent financial activities, according to a report from allAfrica.com. This move underscores the balancing act regulators face: fostering innovation and financial inclusion while ensuring stability and protecting consumers in a rapidly digitising financial landscape.

Experts note that the fragmentation of Africa's financial regulatory landscape, with over 40 different currencies and numerous sovereign jurisdictions, has long been a barrier to seamless cross-border commerce. While mobile money services like M-Pesa have achieved remarkable penetration in East Africa, and fintechs such as Flutterwave and Chipper Cash have built cross-border payment corridors, their operations often rely on complex webs of partnerships and correspondent banking relationships that can be costly. Direct cooperation between central banks on issues like settlement, messaging standards, and regulatory sandboxes is viewed as a way to reduce these frictions at a systemic level.

The success of these cooperative efforts will likely depend on the political will of member states and the technical capacity of the central banks involved. Proponents argue that aligning regulatory approaches and payment system architectures is not just a technical exercise but a prerequisite for realising the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market for goods and services. As one regional payment system official, who asked not to be named, stated, "You cannot have a continental free trade area with 19th-century payment systems. The infrastructure must keep pace with the ambition."