A Pan-African digital payments platform, Onafriq Nigeria Payments Ltd, has announced a partnership with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to pilot Africa’s first wallet-based outbound cross-border payments from Nigeria to Ghana.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Onafriq said the pilot — approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) — enables instant cross-border transfers fully in naira, eliminating the need for hard-currency conversion. The service is being rolled out in collaboration with banks and mobile money operators.
The initiative is designed to deliver seamless intra-African payments for individuals, merchants, and traders, with a strong focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are major drivers of intra-African trade.
According to Onafriq and PAPSS, the pilot will provide SMEs with faster and more affordable payment options for reaching customers and suppliers across borders, thereby reducing trade barriers and expanding market access.
Mr Mxolisi Msutwana, Managing Director for Anglophone West Africa at Onafriq, described the collaboration as a demonstration of the power of partnerships in creating seamless and secure connections between banking systems and mobile money platforms.
“This is how we open bi-directional trade corridors, reduce costs for businesses, and provide African enterprises with the infrastructure they need to trade confidently in their own currencies,” Msutwana said.
He emphasized that while the long-term vision is continental, it is being advanced through practical steps such as the Nigeria-to-Ghana pilot.
Mr Ositadimma Ugwu, Chief Information Officer of PAPSS, said the initiative would help African businesses view borders as opportunities rather than obstacles.
“With this step, we are giving Nigerians the ability to send value to their neighbors with the same ease as sending a text message,” Ugwu said.
He noted that the pilot aligns with PAPSS’s vision of making Africa’s borders invisible to payments and building a continent where transactions flow seamlessly across countries.
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“The Nigeria-to-Ghana outbound payment capability builds on the successful Ghana-to-Nigeria instant payments corridor launched earlier this year,” Ugwu added. “It reinforces our shared commitment to a local, instant, and inclusive African payments ecosystem.”
The six-month pilot, which begins on December 1, is expected to boost cross-border commerce between Nigeria and Ghana and support business growth along the corridor.
Onafriq stated that the partnership with PAPSS supports the operationalize of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which promotes tariff-free trade among its 54 member states.
Under the collaboration, Onafriq provides mobile money infrastructure with access to over one billion mobile wallets, while PAPSS contributes a network of more than 160 commercial banks representing over 400 million bank accounts across 19 African countries.
The partners explained that the initiative effectively bridges mobile money and banking ecosystems, enabling easier and more efficient intra-African trade transactions.
They noted that Africa currently comprises both bank-led and mobile-led markets that often operate in silos, limiting interoperability. The new partnership is expected to dismantle these barriers and enable large-scale cross-border collaboration.
