As Africa continues its digital transformation, a new report launched in Accra in partnership with AfricaNenda, the World Bank, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) highlights the extraordinary growth of Instant Payment Systems (IPS) across the continent and explores their impact on financial inclusion.
The report paints a picture of a rapidly evolving financial ecosystem that holds immense promise for Africa’s underserved communities. In just five years, the volume and value of transactions processed through IPS in Africa have grown by 37% and 39%, respectively. This growth reflects a broader trend of digital payment adoption, driven by increasing mobile phone penetration, fintech innovation, and regulatory support.
However, while IPS systems are reaching more people, no system has fully achieved mature inclusivity, that enables a broad range of digital payment use cases, accessible to 6, affordable and centered around transparent consumer recourse mechanisms. Women and other vulnerable groups still face barriers in adopting digital payments due to concerns around security, fraud, and network reliability. The report underscores that while significant progress has been made, true financial inclusivity remains a challenge. Recourse mechanisms to address fraud and privacy concerns remain critical gaps, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, who continue to report feeling unsafe using digital payment platforms.
“AfricaNenda and its partners are calling for a collective push to expand IPS and deliver solutions that cater to every citizen, particularly those in rural and underserved areas. The goal is to ensure universal financial inclusion by 2030, a vision that could be realized if the 27 planned IPS initiatives are successfully implemented” stated Dr. Robert Ochola, CEO of AfricaNenda.
The report’s methodology integrates multiple data sources, including survey responses from IPS operators and central banks, a comprehensive cataloging of IPS systems across Africa, and consumer research conducted in five countries—Algeria, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritius, and Uganda. Additionally, experts’ interviews from across the continent, alongside detailed case studies from Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, offer a nuanced view of the trends, barriers, and opportunities for IPS in Africa. Together, these insights provide a holistic understanding of the evolving digital payments landscape and the critical challenges that remain for achieving full financial inclusion.
“Access to safe, low-cost, and efficient digital payments has the potential to transform lives, remove the gender gap in finance, making people in emerging markets more financially resilient and foster growth of digital economy and access to capital for small businesses and women,” said Jean Pesme, Global Director, Finance, World Bank. “As SIIPS 2024 shows countries in the Africa region have made remarkable progress on fast payment systems, more needs to be done through new use cases, the promotion of fintech and the involvement of the private sector. As part of its financing and technical assistance and through Project FASTT, the World Bank is helping countries realize the transformative potential of fast payment systems, by learning from each other and driving change to meet market demands.”
“ECA is committed to partnering with AfricaNenda and key stakeholders to support Member States in building trusted, interoperable, and instant payment systems. This collaboration addresses the growing demand for seamless transaction systems, fostering continent-wide economic integration and financial inclusion, and significantly advancing frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) while aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 for an integrated Africa. The SIIPs report is a valuable contribution, offering the latest rigorous insights that guide progress toward these ambitious goals.” – Stephen Karingi – Director at the Regional Integration and Trade Division of the Economic Commission for Africa.
The SIIPS Report 2024 highlights several opportunities to accelerate progress, from driving innovation through fintech licensing to addressing gender disparities, and ensuring every country has access to a domestic IPS. With more countries building the payment’ layer of their digital public infrastructure, there is a growing sense of momentum toward enabling seamless cross border payments across Africa through a mesh of inclusive and interconnected instant payment systems.