Algiers Algeria – In the midst of a crowded gathering of African trade executives at the IATF 2025 in Algiers, Mike Ogbalu III, CEO of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), presented fascinating findings from a Media Awareness Workshop that was attended by media practitioners and journalists. For Liberia and the larger Mano River Union, he presented PAPSS as the continent’s financial game-changer, exposing the fragmentation in African payment channels.
“The problem arises from division. Transferring money between regions of Africa is difficult due to its high cost and dispersed nature.” Ogbalu emphasized the manner in which faulty payment methods impede integration.
He clarified that it is a concerning circumstance that one would have to pass through New York before arriving in Accra in order to go from Lagos to Ghana. “It’s crazy, shipping goods to New York first is uncommon.”
Trade flows are seriously restricted by inefficiencies that force intra-African transactions through overseas financial centers, particularly among Mano River Union states that share borders yet are nonetheless afflicted by slow, expensive payment systems.
PAPSS Promise Immediate, Autonomous, and All-Inclusiveness. Ogbalu described the range of innovative options that PAPSS offers, transfer within 20 seconds from account to any wallet in Africa. A key component of PAPSS is giving Africa sovereignty over its currencies. The PAPSS Card enables Africans to transact across borders in their own currencies.
Ogbalu acknowledged the current systems but emphasized that they should be integrated rather than replaced. Since Q1 2025, 14 switches, 150 commercial banks, and fintech partners from 18 countries have been woven into a single network. “PAPSS is not meant to isolate Africa from the rest of the world,” Ogbalu stressed, but rather to strengthen regional trade while preserving global connectivity.
The groundwork for Liberia is already established. As PAPSS’s settlement agent, the Central Bank of Liberia facilitates local currency transactions between Monrovia-based traders and partners in Ghana, Guinea, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. The PAPSS platform was formally launched in Liberia in early 2025 as part of a nationwide financial education program (Fin-Ed) headed by the CBL.
To close a significant knowledge gap Since 77% of Liberians lacked formal financial education, the CBL targeted market women, young people, and underprivileged communities through outreach in local languages, radio programs, and community workshops. Ogbalu referred to PAPSS as a groundbreaking infrastructure that levels the playing field in the region during the launch.
Rokel Commercial Bank was the first bank in the Mano River Union and Sierra Leone to fully adopt PAPSS, allowing for immediate cross-border transfers in local currencies. With their continued membership in the MRU, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire are well-positioned to gain from increased bandwidth for trade and integration.
When asked about Liberia’s advanced but cash-oriented financial culture, Ogbalu assured: “That’s a wonderful concern. We are in talks with the CBL. Plans are underway for awareness programs involving local partners. We encourage improvements in local banking infrastructure. We want to tackle that region together Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast recognizing the strong trade that already exists there.”
MRU nations have common markets and borders. Fast, inexpensive trading can be unlocked using PAPSS. With PAPSS, MRU’s aim of economic integration, trade facilitation, and social growth is naturally eased.
Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire could have an impact on regional cooperation if Liberia and Sierra Leone actively utilize PAPSS. AfDB-backed MRU road projects, including the MRU Road Development and Transport Facilitation Programme, are improving physical connectivity throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
According to Ogbalu, this is the main diagnosis: fragmented, expensive, and counterintuitive. But PAPSS is transforming African trade from earlier challenges to lightning-fast possibilities through rapid payments, currency sovereignty, and inclusive implementation.
More than just technology, PAPSS serves as a platform for financial sovereignty, regional cooperation, and economic freedom for Liberia and her MRU neighbors.
PAPSS gives MRU states a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn borders into bridges by facilitating quick, inexpensive cross-border transactions in local currencies and adding infrastructural assistance and financial knowledge.
Reported by: Anthony Williams
