Africa’s cross-border payments challenge is now a core test of African integration, not a technical payments issue. Despite rapid growth in digital finance, moving money across African borders remains too costly, too fragmented, and too slow for the needs of trade, remittances, MSMEs, and ordinary consumers. At the Francophone Africa Leaders Forum in Abidjan, banks, payment networks, infrastructure operators, payment service providers and fintechs came together to discuss what it will take to make retail cross-border payments work better across the region. Our perspectives differ, but we share a clear message: progress depends on sustained collaboration between regulators and industry, more consistent rules across borders, and fair access to settlement for licensed providers.
