During the 32nd Annual Meetings of Afreximbank recently held in Abuja, Nigeria, the continent of Africa launched PAPSSCARD, the first Pan African card payment scheme. PAPSSCARD is a new Pan African payment scheme developed by the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and Mercury Payment Services (MPS).
PAPSSCARD is a timely, fast, secure and cost effective system for conducting retail transactions across borders in Africa and intends to reduce the historic reliance that the continent had on foreign payment systems. At present, the vast majority of card based transactions in Africa are routed through international networks which results in high costs and loss of sovereignty over financial data.
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah emphasized the importance of the card, calling it revolutionary: “PAPSSCARD gives Africa the ability to transfer money quickly and cheaply across our borders. It is a transformative initiative to preserve value and increase intra-African trade.”
PAPSS CEO Mike Ogbalu III stated, the card is a “valuable representation of progress; a necessity to attain financial self-sufficiency”. Mercury Chairman Muzaffer Khokhar called it a trust-building innovation which would further become Africa’s most trusted payment brand.
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The card will benefit consumers, banks, merchants and governments and it will be issued with the support of partners which include Bank of Kigali, I&M Bank Rwanda, Rswitch of Rwanda and Unified Payments of Nigeria.
PAPSSCARD is supported by central banks and is aligned to the goals of AfCFTA, positioning itself as a potential major contributor to regional integration, financial inclusion and a self-sufficient African economy.
