Ethiopia has officially joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). The announcement was made this week during a joint press conference led by National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) Governor Dr Eyob Tekalign and PAPSS Chief Executive Officer Mike Ogbalu III on the sidelines of the Ethiopia Finance Forum in Addis Ababa. The integration is expected to strengthen cross-border payments and trade between Ethiopia and other African markets. It connects Ethiopian financial institutions to PAPSS, an African payment infrastructure established under the auspices of Afreximbank, the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat. The system is designed to facilitate cross-border transactions and support trade across the continent. Dr Tekalign said the move was part of Ethiopia’s efforts to modernise its financial system and strengthen economic ties with the rest of Africa. “Ethiopia’s integration into the PAPSS network represents an important step in our continued efforts to modernise our financial system and deepen our economic connections with the rest of Africa,” he said during a press conference. He added that the development would create opportunities for Ethiopian financial institutions and businesses to participate more actively in cross-border payments and intra-African trade. Alongside the announcement, NBE and PAPSS confirmed that Addis Ababa will host the second edition of PAPSS COWRY, an African payments conference, on November 26–27, 2026. It will be held under the theme “Scaling Africa’s Sovereign Payments, From Continental Connectivity to Global Integration.” Participants will include central bank governors, commercial bank executives, fintech entrepreneurs, regulators, payment system operators and technology providers, with more than 1,000 delegates, featuring over 60 speakers expected to attend. Ogbalu said Ethiopia’s participation in PAPSS marked an important milestone for the continent’s growing payments infrastructure. “Ethiopia joining the PAPSS network is an important milestone. It connects Ethiopian financial institutions to a growing continental payments infrastructure and opens new opportunities for cross-border payments with the rest of Africa,” he said. He also praised Dr Tekalign’s support for the initiative and welcomed Ethiopia’s decision to co-host the conference. “Our ambition is to deliver an African-owned conference to the standards of any leading international payments conference, bringing together the people who are shaping the future of payments in Africa and globally,” Ogbalu said. The conference will also feature the PAPSS COWRY Awards during a gala dinner on November 26, recognising leadership and innovation in Africa’s payments industry.
