The Bank of Central African States (BEAC), the central bank for six nations in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), has joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). This integration, announced this week, is intended to facilitate and reduce the cost of cross-border trade within Africa by allowing commercial transactions to be settled in local currencies.

PAPSS, a project spearheaded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), is designed to enable instant cross-border payments in local African currencies. By connecting BEAC, which serves Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, the system gains a significant bloc of users whose intra-regional trade has historically relied on third-party currencies like the US dollar or the euro. The move is seen as a concrete step towards operationalizing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by removing a key financial barrier.

"The participation of BEAC in PAPSS marks a pivotal moment for regional integration," said Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, in a statement. "It will significantly enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments within the CEMAC region and between CEMAC and other African countries." The system aims to reduce transaction times from several days to minutes while cutting costs associated with currency conversion and correspondent banking fees.

The integration arrives as other African nations also move to modernize their financial regulatory frameworks to keep pace with digital innovation. In a separate development this month, Kenyan President William Ruto signed a new Central Bank of Kenya Act, overhauling the country's banking oversight. The revised law, which came into force on July -7, 2026, grants the central bank enhanced powers to supervise payment service providers and digital lenders, and establishes a dedicated Financial Stability Council.

While the Kenyan reforms focus on domestic regulatory strength, the BEAC-PAPSS linkage addresses a continent-wide challenge. Analysts note that high costs and inefficiencies in cross-border payments have long been a drag on intra-African trade, which remains below its potential despite the launch of the AfCFTA. Systems like PAPSS, by providing a centralized clearing and settlement infrastructure, are viewed as critical digital public goods for the African single market.

The success of such initiatives, however, hinges on widespread adoption by commercial banks and payment service providers across member states. BEAC's membership requires it to ensure its national commercial banks and financial institutions connect to the PAPSS platform. As more central banks and their financial ecosystems join, the network effect could gradually shift the continent's payment landscape, reducing dependency on offshore financial corridors for intra-African commerce.