Ghana, Rwanda and Singapore have collaborated to launch a new cross -border payment system It will enable a smooth and cost -effective transfer of funds over African countries.
The new system is known as the next gene digital payment infrastructure and is a collaboration between Bank of Ghana (BOG), National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) and Global Financial Technology Network (GFTN), an initiative from Monetary authority in Singapore (MAS) to expand the country’s fintech ecosystem globally. Formally known as project 54 was the system Rejected At 3I Africa Summit 2025 Policy Forum in Accra.
In his presentation at the event, BOG Governor Johnson Asiama noted that the new system will speed up interoperability over the continent’s financial system and facilitate the movement of value.
“This initiative aims to modernize Africa’s cross-border payment ecosystem through a central bank-led, innovation-enabled approach together with fintechs and financial institutions,” he said.
Africans have long endured very high fees and Slow transactions When you move funds across the region, even between nations that divide boundaries. A majority of cross -border transactions are decided in western currencies, especially the US dollar, which requires a network of correspondent banks that increase costs.
While payments In Africa, it has been boring and expensive for decades has been done to improve them. This is mainly due to the low intra-African trade, which leads to the governments focusing on solutions that satisfy payments with other regions. 2023, only 15% of the continent’s total trade volume was intra-African; In sharp contrast, intra-regional trade in Asia was at 60%, while the EU was 70%.
The new project aims to change this and provide “a seamless, reliable and effective cross -border payment system,” abandoned John Rwangombwa, the governor of Rwanda’s central bank, in a speech earlier this year.
“This project is designed to challenge this story by creating a system that facilitates immediately, cheap and secure payments across African limits. This initiative is not just about technology; It is about economic empowerment, economic resilience and to ensure that Africa’s digital economy is based on an infrastructure that meets the needs of both companies and individuals, ”he added.
Ghanas Asiamah agreed and noted that the future of Africa lies in being a uniform but dynamic economic block where the value moves smoothly across borders. He noted that financial technology and digital assets have proven that Africans can send money across borders in minutes and to a fraction of the cost And that interest in such systems is high.
Asiamah further pointed out that Africa has become a global leader in mobile money, and this leadership must translate into other financial systems. The latest industry report from GSMA revealed The Sanfrica south of Sahara met $ 1.1 trillion in transaction value last year and accounted for over two -thirds of all global mobile money. The region also met 80 billion transactions, which was 74% of the global volume.
Economic Research is crucial to promoting digital payments: Rwanda’s Central Bank
In Rwanda, the central bank has repeated the need to conduct financial research to support the development of digital payments in the East African nation.
Speak during the recent annual research conference in Kigali, Deputy Governor Justin Nsengyumva praise The progress made by the country in recent years to make digital payments inclusive, resilient and available. Everything would not have been possible, but the dedicated work that the country’s researchers have been involved in, he added.
“In this rapidly evolving environment, economic research becomes indispensable. This means that we can deepen our understanding of the drivers behind the transformation in payment systems and their broader financial consequences,” Nsengyumva said.
Rwanda’s digital payments have increased over the past six years, with the country’s national strategy for transformation (NST1), which was inaugurated in 2018 and credited for growth. According to Nsengyumva, digital payments hit 300% of the gross domestic product (GDP) last year against a target of 80%. He also noted that Economic inclusion is now at 96%.
However, the Rwandan controller admitted that the country is still facing certain challenges in digital payments.
“Challenges such as ensuring data protection and integrity, strengthen cyber security, achieve seamless interoperability and designing regulations that balance innovation and system stability must continue to be absorbed,” he said.
See: Tech redefines how things are done – Africa is here for it
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