Your Cross-Border Payments Just Got Cheaper. Here's What Changed.

Kenyan market trader reviewing cross-border payment on mobile phone at busy market stall — Illustration by HotKiosk

Kenya's banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators just connected to Africa's continent-wide cross-border payment network. For the first time, traders can send money to suppliers in 19 African countries without routing through US dollars. The change went live in February 2026. Here is what it means for your business.

What Just Changed

On February 26, 2026, Kenya's instant payment network Pesalink announced a formal connection to PAPSS, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System. That connection links 80-plus Kenyan financial institutions to more than 160 banks and fintechs spread across 19 African countries.

The result: a Kenyan trader can now send money directly from their bank account or mobile wallet to a supplier in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, or any other PAPSS-connected country. The payment moves instantly. It settles in local currencies. No US dollars required in the middle.

Pesalink is operated by Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL), the interbank payments company owned by the Kenya Bankers Association. Most Kenyan bank transfers you make already pass through Pesalink. Now that system has a door into the rest of Africa.

How the New System Works

PAPSS stands for the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System. It is run by Afreximbank, the African Export-Import Bank, in partnership with the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat.

Think of it as a shared road between African payment networks. Each country's national payment system connects to PAPSS. Once plugged in, banks and fintechs in those countries can move money to each other directly without passing through a Western bank or a dollar conversion.

Before Pesalink joined, Kenyan banks had no direct path onto this road. Payments had to exit Africa, pass through a foreign correspondent bank, and re-enter. Now Kenya is plugged directly into the same grid that Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and others already use.

Before and After: The Cost of Sending Money

If you paid a Tanzanian supplier or Ghanaian wholesaler before this change, here is what happened to your money:

Your Kenyan shillings were converted to US dollars at your bank's rate
Dollars sent via SWIFT through one or more correspondent banks
Dollars received at the destination bank and converted to local currency
Time: 2 to 5 business days
Cost: typically 5 to 10% in combined fees and exchange rate margins, two conversions instead of one

Under the new system:

Your shillings move from your Kenyan account directly to the destination
Settlement happens through PAPSS in local currencies, no dollar conversion
Time: instant or near-instant
Cost: lower, because the double dollar conversion is removed

Afreximbank estimates that wider adoption of PAPSS across Africa could save African businesses up to $5 billion annually in transaction costs. That figure depends on how many institutions fully activate the system, but the savings direction is real at any volume.

Which Countries Are Connected

PAPSS is currently live in 19 African countries. The network covers most of West Africa plus Kenya and parts of Southern Africa. More countries are being added as their national switches connect.

Region	Notable PAPSS Countries
West Africa	Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Cameroon
East Africa	Kenya (connected February 2026)
Southern Africa	Zimbabwe, Zambia

The Nigeria-Ghana corridor launched earlier in February 2026 through a separate partnership between PAPSS and Onafriq, enabling wallet-based payments directly in naira and cedis. That was the first live wallet-to-wallet cross-border corridor on the network. Kenya's Pesalink joining expands what is now reachable from East Africa.

Not every bank in every country is connected yet. Coverage grows as individual institutions activate the service. Check the PAPSS website for the current list of participating banks and countries.

What This Means for Your Business

If you import goods from other African countries

This is where the change is most direct. If you source products from Nigerian distributors, Ghanaian wholesalers, or suppliers in Zambia or Zimbabwe, you may now be able to pay them faster and more cheaply through a PAPSS-connected bank or fintech.

Ask your bank whether they are sending payments through PAPSS. Many Kenyan banks are already Pesalink members, so the connection may already be live for your account. You can also check the Pesalink website for confirmed participating institutions.

If you receive payments from other African countries

The system works both ways. If customers or business partners in PAPSS-connected countries owe you money, they can now send it to your Kenyan account without routing through a Western correspondent bank. That means faster receipts and less lost to exchange rate spreads.

If you use mobile money

PAPSS connects to Kenya's mobile money operators through Pesalink. As more mobile money providers activate the connection, you may be able to receive regional payments directly into your wallet. Check with your provider on when this goes live for your account type.

What to Watch Out For

The system is new and not every bank or wallet has activated PAPSS flows yet. Ask your specific institution before depending on it for a payment deadline.

Some corridors have transaction limits. The Nigeria-Ghana corridor launched with a cap of 10,000 Ghana cedis per transfer and requires stating the purpose of the payment. Limits vary by corridor and by institution.

Exchange rates are set by each country's central bank or the participating institution. Compare the rate you are offered against the published interbank rate to make sure you are getting fair terms.

Tanzania and Uganda are not yet on the full PAPSS network as of early 2026. If most of your cross-border business is with East African neighbors, watch for their connection announcements.

Why This Matters

African traders have long paid a penalty for trading with each other. Sending money from Kenya to Nigeria cost more than sending the same amount from Kenya to London. The reason was simple: every African payment had to exit the continent first, pass through a foreign bank, and re-enter.

That is starting to change. PAPSS is not fully built out and not universally adopted. But the infrastructure is being laid, one national connection at a time. Kenya joining is a meaningful step because Pesalink is one of Africa's most connected payment networks. East Africa's interbank system is now plugged into the continental grid.

For shop owners who source from or sell to other African countries, the cost of moving money is going down. The speed is going up. And the dependence on dollars for everyday African trade is getting smaller.

Conclusion

Kenya's Pesalink connecting to PAPSS means that more than 80 banks, fintechs, SACCOs, and mobile money providers can now reach 160-plus institutions across 19 African countries in local currencies. If you import goods, receive payments, or have suppliers in PAPSS countries, ask your bank today whether the service is active on your account. The fees you save on each transfer stay in your business.