Africa’s Largest Trade Bloc Launches Digital Payments Platform to Cut Cross-Border Costs
By Urban Gazette Regional Desk
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) announced the launch of a new digital retail payments platform this week, allowing member-states to settle trade transactions in local currencies and reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar.
The payments platform pilot, which kicks off between Malawi and Zambia, is being rolled out by COMESA (21 member states including Egypt, Kenya and Ethiopia) in partnership with digital-financial-services and foreign-exchange providers.
COMESA’s Secretary-General said the move addresses longstanding trade frictions: small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in many member states face high costs and multiple conversions when settling cross-border transactions. The platform aims to keep costs under 3 % of transaction value.
Kenya’s Trade Minister described the initiative as a “game-changer” and Kenya’s President (also COMESA chair) called for deeper regional integration through local financial institutions.
Analysts say the initiative comes at a time when Africa is pushing for greater economic sovereignty and reduced vulnerability to foreign-currency crises. Implementation risks remain in infrastructure and regulatory harmonisation across countries.
What to watch: The rollout schedule across other member states, uptake by SMEs, and whether this leads to measurable cross‐border trade growth and currency stability.
