A pan-African organization, receiving support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is striving to achieve universal access to payment systems across Africa by 2030. Their strategy involves assisting 15 African countries in establishing instant payment platforms within the next three to five years.
Despite these efforts, it’s important to note that half of Africa still lacks an instant-payment system. This information comes from Sabine Mensah, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the advocacy group AfricaNenda.
In her words, “There is still a significant journey ahead to ensure this service is accessible to everyone.” She further explained that when discussing expansion, it pertains to the annual increase in processed transactions.
Currently, Africa boasts 32 instant payment systems. Of these, 29 are national systems, while three are regional systems that facilitate cross-border transactions. In 2023, these platforms processed nearly 32 billion transactions, amounting to a value of $1.2 trillion, as reported by Mensah.
In addition to these efforts, AfricaNenda extends technical support to central banks, government agencies, and lobby groups. This is part of their mission to expedite financial inclusion, aiming for universal access by 2030. Unfortunately, about 400 million adults in Africa remain without access to financial products, as stated by Mensah.
She emphasized the urgency of this investment, saying, “As we wait, the population continues to grow. If we don’t include more people, the gap could widen.” This highlights the critical need for immediate action in expanding financial inclusion in Africa.
