GCB Bank Plc, one of the largest banks in Ghana, today announced it successfully completed the first Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) client transaction in Ghana.

The transaction involved a Ghanaian incorporated entity initiating a supplier payment from GCB  in Ghana Cedis to a beneficiary in Nigeria who received the payment in Naira instantly.

This innovation revolutionalizes the way Ghanaian individuals and businesses trade with the rest of Africa.

GCB is committed to providing innovative and efficient banking solutions to its customers and remains at the forefront of introducing solutions such as the telco-agnostic e-wallet, e-payments, and cashless banking to the market.

The PAPSS platform is expected to bring several benefits to GCB’s customers as individuals and businesses will now have access to cheaper, faster turnaround, traceable and transparent cross-border payments. This development is also a major step in operationalising the AfCFTA objectives.

Mr Kofi Adomakoh, MD of GCB, said, “GCB is excited about this feat, being the first on an innovative and leading-edge technology platform. We believe in PAPSS  as a key driver in the AfCFTA agenda and the potential it has to transform the way our customers trade across the continent.

"We at GCB are very confident this will transform the payment ecosystem and facilitate trade among African countries.

"We would like to express our profound gratitude to the Bank of Ghana and Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS) for the regulatory framework and immense support in operationalising this platform.

"We could not have achieved this without your continuous commitment to improving the payment system in Ghana. To Afrieximbank and the PAPSS Team based out of Cairo, we say Ayekoo for making the AfCFTA dream a reality.  

To our valued customers, we say thank you for coming on this journey with us. At the heart of the deployment of this innovative solution is our unrelentless quest to leverage technology and partnerships to deliver enhanced customer experience.

"This solution provides you with a more secure, convenient, transparent and cheaper way of making and receiving payments across Africa.

"I invite you all to join us in welcoming this exciting new chapter in our digital journey. Let’s embrace this payment solution  and capture the enormous Pan-African opportunities it brings to drive growth, innovation and superior customer experience.”  

Mike Ogbalu III, CEO of PAPSS said, “GCB’s adoption of PAPSS is one of the fastest in Ghana, as the bank has not only been the first to complete the technical integration to our system but has also been the first to complete customer transactions.

"This is a major milestone, as it now allows their customers to commence real-time cross-border payments in local currency.

This milestone couldn’t be possible without the commitment and unbeatable support of the Bank of Ghana (BOG) as well as the National Switch namely the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS).

"Therefore, I would like to commend BOG, GhIPSS and GCB for all the efforts put together to ensure the smooth operationalization of PAPSS in Ghana.”