Central Africa just plugged into the continent’s largest payment network. What that changes now — and what it doesn’t yet.

On 9 July 2026, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) officially joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the cross-border payment network built by Afreximbank with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat. The announcement followed a meeting in Yaoundé between BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui and PAPSS CEO Mike Ogbalu III.

One signature, six countries. As one of Africa’s only two regional central banks, BEAC brings the entire CEMAC zone — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon — into the network at once: a market of more than 72 million people at the crossroads of West, East and Southern Africa. PAPSS now spans 28 African countries and more than 190 commercial banks and fintechs, supported by 16 payment switches, with reach into 250+ additional institutions through partner networks.

Why it matters

Today, when a company in Douala pays a supplier in Lagos, the money typically routes through a correspondent bank outside Africa: CFA francs converted to dollars or euros, then to naira. Every step adds cost, delay and currency risk.

PAPSS removes the detour. Payments settle in local African currencies, moving between African markets within seconds — no third currency, no external intermediary. For the Central African CFA franc, this opens a direct corridor to the naira, the cedi, the shilling and beyond. The first beneficiaries: oil, timber and mining operators whose supply chains already run through Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa — and, eventually, intra-African remittances in a continent with some of the world’s highest transfer fees.

What it doesn’t change — yet

Here is the caveat that matters: as of today, no business or individual in the CEMAC zone can actually use PAPSS. Membership is an institutional milestone, not a commercial launch.

Afreximbank’s own statement is clear: PAPSS will work with BEAC through the end of 2026 to operationalize the membership, connect the region’s financial institutions, and roll the service out to companies and individuals. The real work now shifts to commercial banks — Ecobank, UBA, Attijariwafa, BGFI and local players — which must integrate PAPSS protocols into their core systems and align compliance procedures. Governor Sana Bangui’s message to them was explicit: get ready. The metric to watch by December is simple — how many CEMAC banks are actually connected.

The stock exchange connection

Cross-border trading between African bourses already exists. Since November 2022, the AELP Link platform — a flagship project of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) and the African Development Bank — has connected seven exchanges: BRVM, Casablanca, Cairo, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and Mauritius, representing over 90% of the continent’s market capitalization. At the inaugural demonstration in Abidjan in December 2022, an Ivorian broker bought Kenya Commercial Bank shares in Nairobi, and the Nairobi broker sent back an order for Sonatel shares on the BRVM.

The missing link is the money. Trades route across borders in a few clicks; settlement still crawls through legacy banking channels. That is exactly the gap PAPSS and ASEA agreed to close in a memorandum signed in April 2023: making PAPSS the settlement rail behind Africa’s linked exchanges.

Next chapter: West Africa

The most visible missing piece is the UEMOA zone. The BCEAO — BEAC’s West African counterpart — is not yet connected; a pilot phase is scheduled for later in 2026. If it lands, both CFA franc zones will be tied to the rest of the continent through a single African infrastructure.

The bottom line

African financial integration is being built in layers. Cross-border securities trading has worked since 2022. The institutional payment layer just reached Central Africa. The layer that matters to businesses and households is being wired now — zone by zone, bank by bank.

Three things to watch before year-end: how many CEMAC commercial banks go live on PAPSS; whether the BCEAO pilot launches on schedule; and the first exchange-to-exchange settlements routed through PAPSS. Progress will be measured at those milestones — not in press releases.