Ghana’s leading indigenous bank, Prudential Bank Limited, has organised a seminar at the Africa Regent Hotel in Accra to discuss opportunities and benefits of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
The discussion was held under the theme Stimulating Trade in Africa through Efficient Payment Solutions- the Role of PAPPS, and was moderated by Mr. Harry Oppong, Head of Institutional Banking-Prudential Bank Limited.
Panellists for the day were Cynthia Eryue, Head-Africa Trade at Oakwood Green Africa; Ositadimma Ugwu, Head-Technology & Operations at PAPSS; Leopold Armah, Head-Digital Transformation Prudential Bank; Vivian Boakye Ameyaw, Head-Trade Services Prudential Bank; and Seth Twum Akwaboah from the Association of Ghana Industries.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is an initiative of Afreximbank, Africa’s pre-eminent trade finance institution whose mission includes stimulating the expansion, diversification and development of African trade. PAPPS was created to unlock Africa’s massive potential for internal trade, which will enable the efficient flow of cross-border trade and transactions in Africa.
PAPSS features cutting-edge technology that connects African banks, payment service providers and other financial market intermediaries, enabling instant and secure payments between African countries.
The MD of Prudential Bank Limited, John K. Addo, welcomed participants of the day and set the tone for discussions.
Speaking during the event, Vivian Boakye Ameyaw, Head-Trade Services at Prudential Bank, indicated that PAPPS is a timely innovation that will go a long way to facilitate international trade among African countries, cutting out the cumbersome process individuals and businesses have to go through to send money across borders.
“One of the biggest financial challenges we face is sending money from one African country to another. For example, if a Prudential Bank customer in Ghana wants to send money to a relative in Nigeria, the money will have to go to an overseas bank in Europe or America. This process is not only long but also costly; because as the money goes around, surcharges increase. Fortunately, with the arrival of PAPSS this issue will be solved.”
Leopold Armah, Head-Digital Transformation, Prudential Bank, expressed his outfit’s excitement with the introduction of PAPSS to provide better digital solutions for clients. “PAPSS is addressing the realities of today’s customer, which is the ability to do cross-border payments just as they would do locally. In a similar way, PAPSS gives more meaning to the AFCTA framework, enabling seamless payments across the African continent.”
Ositadimma Ugwu, Head-Technology & Operations at PAPSS, said PAPSS was created to ensure that Africans have a seamless way of making payments.
He also spoke about the uniqueness of PAPPS from other cross-border payment systems, in that it is going to eliminate all the correspondent banking structures we have today and allow one to make payments instantly and reduce the cost involved in making them.
In strengthening its place as the local bank of choice, Prudential Bank is partnering FinTechs with operations in other African countries to support SME businesses in leveraging opportunities under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which presents a pipeline of interesting opportunities in the near-future.
