Onafriq Signs Partners With PAPSS

Onafriq Nigeria Payments Ltd, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licensed payment service provider, has partnered with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to pilot Africa’s first wallet-based outbound payments corridor from Nigeria to Ghana.

The pilot enables instant cross-border payments fully denominated in Naira, eliminating the need for hard currency conversion. Delivered in partnership with banks and mobile money operators, the service has received regulatory approval from the CBN and will run for an initial six-month period starting December 1.

The initiative is designed to simplify intra-African payments for individuals, merchants, and traders, with a strong focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of intra-African trade. By offering a faster and more affordable way to transact across borders, the service aims to reduce friction in cross-border commerce and expand market access for businesses operating between Nigeria and Ghana.

The partnership also supports the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to promote tariff-free trade across its 54 member states. Under the collaboration, Onafriq provides the mobile money infrastructure, connecting more than one billion mobile wallets across the continent, while PAPSS contributes its banking network spanning over 160 commercial banks and more than 400 million bank accounts across 19 African countries. Together, the two organisations are bridging the gap between mobile money and traditional banking ecosystems.

Africa’s payments landscape has historically been divided between bank-led and mobile-led markets, with limited interoperability between the two. By connecting these ecosystems, Onafriq and PAPSS aim to remove longstanding barriers to cross-border transactions and enable payments at continental scale, leveraging over one billion mobile wallets and approximately 500 million bank accounts across Africa.

The new outbound Nigeria-to-Ghana payments capability builds on the existing partnership between Onafriq and PAPSS, following the launch of inbound payments into Ghana earlier this year. Mxolisi Msutwana, Managing Director for Anglophone West Africa at Onafriq, said the collaboration demonstrates the power of scale in transforming Africa’s payments landscape.

“Our work with PAPSS shows what collaboration at scale can unlock seamless, secure connections between banking systems and mobile money ecosystems. This is how we open bi-directional trade corridors, reduce costs for businesses, and give African enterprises the rails they need to trade with confidence in their own currencies. The vision is continental, but it starts with practical steps like this one,” he said.

Ositadimma Ugwu, Chief Information Officer at PAPSS, noted that the initiative challenges traditional perceptions of borders in Africa.

“Too often, African businesses and individuals see borders as roadblocks instead of opportunities. With this step, we’re challenging that mindset, giving Nigerians the ability to send value next door with the same ease as sending a text message. Our vision is simple: make Africa’s borders invisible to payments. This pilot makes that a reality,” he said.

The launch further strengthens the Nigeria–Ghana payments corridor, following the successful rollout of instant Ghana-to-Nigeria payments earlier this year, and reinforces the growing momentum toward a more local, instant, and inclusive future for African payments.