Over $1.9 trillion worth of instant payment transactions took place in Africa in 2024, according to the State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems (SIIPS) Report released on Thursday.
The annual report, produced by the AfricaNenda Foundation in partnership with the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE), the World Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), shows significant growth and expansion of instant payment systems across the continent.
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The 2025 report was launched in the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Instant payment systems (IPS) are open-loop retail payment platforms, enabling irrevocable, low-value, digital credit-push transactions in near real time, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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“The total transaction value increased from $775.7 billion in 2020 to $1,980.6 billion in 2024,” the report stated, indicating a transaction volume of $64.6 billion in 2024.
The report shows an expansion of IPS across the continent, with 36 live systems in 31 countries. Five of the 36 systems were launched within the last 12 months.
Some newly launched IPS include Switch Mobile in Algeria, Fast Payments Module in Eswatini, LYPay in Libya, Salon Pement Switch in Sierra Leone, and the Somalia Instant Payment System in Somalia.
Robert Ochola, CEO of the AfricaNenda Foundation, said in his presentation that countries operating IPS must ensure faster and more inclusive access.
“The findings of SIIPS 2025 show clear progress — more countries are adopting instant payment systems, and more people are gaining access to digital financial services that support livelihoods, trade, and growth across the continent.
“The latest SIIPS report shows steady progress across Africa in the uptake of fast payments. This is promising and represents a great start, but there is much work to be done. Countries without fast payment systems should begin implementations, while those already operating them should focus on greater inclusivity, innovation, and affordability in digital payment services.”
Expansion of regional IPS — cross-border payment
The report also highlighted the expansion of regional payment systems on the continent, which experts say could help deepen cross-border payments across Africa. The regional IPS include GIMACPAY, PAPSS and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) system.
GIMACPAY serves the following countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. PAPSS covers Nigeria and 12 other West African countries, and Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia.
The SADC IPS is live in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the report, four other regional blocs in Africa are also at different stages of developing payment systems. These blocs include the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).
However, experts warned that African countries must address issues around free movement to deepen payment systems across the continent.
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Premier Oiwoh, the CEO of NIBSS, said countries must ensure that people can move around and engage in trade to create incentives for cross-border payments.
“One of the things we need to fix on the continent is freedom of movement. I mean, we cannot be promoting trade when people cannot visit or enter countries in Africa. That is a major challenge, and, for me, a barrier to trade and to many other activities,” Mr Oiwoh said on the sidelines of the event.
Niraj Verma, acting global director of the Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Department at the World Bank, said regional fast payment systems have shown what can be achieved at the regional level and urged scaling and improved efficiency.
“Regional FPS models have demonstrated a unique opportunity to facilitate cost-efficient and speedy cross-border payments and could be explored for scaling across regions and ultimately across the entire continent,” she said.
Several Central Bank Governors and experts who spoke at the event also called for stronger collaboration to ensure that systems do not operate in silos and are fully interoperable.
