National Bank of Ethiopia joins PAPSS pan-African payments network

Ethiopia has joined the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), the National Bank of Ethiopia and PAPSS announced on 15 October 2026. The release was issued on behalf of Afreximbank, which conceived the network. Membership will let Ethiopian financial institutions connect to PAPSS and make cross-border payments with institutions across Africa.

National Bank of Ethiopia Governor Eyob Tekalign and PAPSS Chief Executive Mike Ogbalu III made the announcement at a joint press conference in Addis Ababa, on the sidelines of the Ethiopia Finance Forum.

Eyob said Ethiopia's integration into the network "represents an important step" in modernising the country's financial system. Ogbalu said Ethiopia joining was "an important milestone" that connects Ethiopian institutions to continental payments infrastructure.

Each institution still has to implement the system before it can use it, the Kenyan tech site TechTrends Kenya reported on 16 October 2026.

PAPSS was established under the auspices of Afreximbank, the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat. It was launched in Accra, Ghana, in January 2022. TechTrends Kenya describes its aim as simpler cross-border payments in local currencies and support for trade within Africa.

Ethiopia will host the second edition of PAPSS COWRY, the network's payments conference, on 26 and 27 November 2026 at the Ethiopian Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa. PAPSS and the National Bank of Ethiopia are co-hosts. The theme is "Scaling Africa's Sovereign Payments: From Continental Connectivity to Global Integration."

Organisers expect more than 1,000 delegates, over 60 speakers and more than 35 exhibition booths. The programme covers cross-border payments, local-currency settlement, interoperability, financial infrastructure, AI, stablecoins, digital assets, cybersecurity and links to global payment networks. The PAPSS COWRY Awards will be presented at the gala dinner on 26 November.

Kenya joined the network in 2023. The payments news site The Paypers reported on 3 October 2023 that the Central Bank of Kenya had become a member of PAPSS and that Kenyan commercial banks on the system included Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Ecobank and KCB, with Ecobank and KCB signing up in June 2023. A Kenyan ministry, unnamed in the report, said at the time that the system would let Kenyan firms trade with firms in other African member states.

The National Bank of Ethiopia was established in 1963 and is headquartered in Addis Ababa. Under Proclamation No. 1359/2025, price stability is its primary objective, according to the release.