The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa, Mr Oliver Alawuba, says the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System was Africa’s response to the current global tariff war.

Alawuba said this on Wednesday at the launch of the Nigeria-Ghana corridor of the partnership between PAPSS and UBA, which enables UBA’s artificial intelligence chatbot, LEO, to carry out cross-border payment transactions.

In July, UBA activated cross-border payment functionality on its artificial intelligence chatbot, LEO, making it the first of its kind on the continent to facilitate instant remittances across countries using local currencies. The platform leverages PAPSS, developed in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank, and allows individuals, traders, and corporates to transfer money in local currencies between African countries where the Central Bank has approved PAPSS operations.

Alawuba said, “This is the future of Africa that we are building.

I believe that this is what UBA is meant to do, and the partnership with Afreximbank and PAPSS. With all the issues that the world is facing today about tariffs, this is Africa’s response. With this solution, all transactions are done with the African currencies. We don’t need to pay any charges in dollars. We don’t need to put pressure on the foreign exchange market, which is a big issue around the inflation rate today in the various countries we have.

“Intra-African trade is very low. This is the time for this product. It is time to do business with each other. We do business with Western countries all the time, but intra-African trade has been even lower; we need to improve on that. Even the tariff regime in the world today is telling us that this is the time for this product. This is the time for us to do business with each other, and that is what we are promoting.”

The UBA boss affirmed the financial institution’s belief in African youths and their entrepreneurial spirit, which he said is needed to rebuild the continent’s economy.

The Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, Mike Ogbalu III, in his comments, hailed UBA for leading the charge with this partnership, saying, “UBA has been an excellent partner. UBA is synonymous with a lot of firsts, and today, we celebrate yet another first for UBA. The bid to be impactful across the continent is not a recent one; it’s been at the heart of this bank. So, it’s not by chance that it is connecting with PAPSS to enable intra-Africa trade.

“PAPSS is a financial market infrastructure designed to allow cross-border payment in local currencies. It’s designed to work on a multilateral net settlement basis. It’s in line with the principles of financial market infrastructure. So, what we have built, even though we are African, is world-class. The PAPSS infrastructure can stand anywhere in the world.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Directorate Head, UBA Digital & Retail Banking, Shamsideen Fashola, said, “This collaboration is more than a technological upgrade for us in UBA. It is a transformational move that simplifies payments and supports families and unlocks economic potential in line with our goals. Early data already shows promising adoption, especially in the Ghana-Nigeria corridor, and we are committed to deepening awareness and driving even more value for customers across our market.”