Africa’s long-fragmented cross-border payment systems may be on the cusp of transformation, driven by emerging alternatives to Western-dominated networks like SWIFT.
The launch of BRICS Pay — a decentralized platform aiming to settle transactions in local currencies — signals a broader push to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and challenge the geopolitical sway it holds over global finance. Historically, cross-border payments in Africa have been costly, slow, and opaque. While recent improvements — like real-time tracking — have boosted speed and transparency, the lack of interoperability among national systems remains a major hurdle. “A payment system alone is not going to foster trade,” warns Olivier Lens, SWIFT’s head of Sub-Saharan Africa, stressing the need for coordinated regulation and interoperable infrastructure to avoid new financial silos.
Meanwhile, BRICS Pay — introduced at the 2024 BRICS Plus Summit in Kazan — marks a strategic pivot. It aims to give member nations financial sovereignty by bypassing dollar-based channels. “A joint currency implies a level of political trust and economic co-ordination that does not exist in this bloc,” says an opinion piece in The Business Standard. “Even within the eurozone, managing a single currency across divergent economies has proven difficult. Now imagine doing that across BRICS, a group with far deeper divisions.” While it won’t replace SWIFT outright, its adoption by major economies like China, Russia, and India could diversify global payment routes. Africa’s own efforts, like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), echo this trend. But experts stress that without unified standards, both regional and global initiatives risk fragmentation. The challenge ahead isn’t just building new systems — it’s making them work together.
