Dr. Ernest Addison calls for collaboration to scale up mobile money interoperability across Africa

Dr. Ernest Addison calls for collaboration to scale up mobile money interoperability across Africa

Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, delivered a keynote address at the Africa Prosperity Network (APN) 2024 Symposium on Retail Payment Interoperability on the theme, “Scaling up Interoperability: Using Mobile Money for Cross-Border Transactions in Africa.”

Dr. Addison underscored the necessity of robust cooperation among stakeholders to establish a secure, transparent, and trusted digital trade ecosystem.

He highlighted the critical importance of promoting digital inclusion for underrepresented groups and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across African Union member states.

Dr. Addison linked the initiative to the broader objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to increase intra-African trade from 15% in 2019 to 50% by 2045, thereby creating a single continental market for goods and services with a combined annual output of approximately $2.5 trillion.

Emphasizing the persistent challenges in cross-border payments, Dr. Addison remarked on the urgency of establishing a robust framework to enable seamless transactions across Africa.

He noted that this issue has been a central theme in recent policy, development, and financial inclusion discussions, reflecting the continent’s pressing constraints and the necessity for concrete actions to advance cross-border payment systems.

The Governor referred to the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, which reaffirmed the consensus among market participants and policymakers to strive for seamless cross-border payments. However, he also highlighted the significant gap between market expectations and current policy frameworks, calling for targeted efforts to address these discrepancies.

“Africa has made giant strides in FinTech development and regulation, particularly with its leadership role in the mobile money technology space. Therefore, the concept of interoperable mobile money systems holds an enormous potential towards the establishment of a comprehensive cross-border payment interoperability in the short-medium term.

“An efficient cross-border payment interoperability system can deliver seamless payments between buyers and sellers across African countries, as well as provide extensive inclusivity in expanding access to payment and financial services for the youth, vulnerable groups, and striving entrepreneurs,” he remarked.

He stressed further the imperative of collaboration between regulators, financial institutions, mobile money operators, FinTech innovators, and other stakeholders.

Such cooperation is vital to overcoming technical challenges, ensuring regulatory compliance, building trust, and driving the scalability and sustainability of cross-border mobile money initiatives.

By fostering a collaborative ecosystem, Africa can harness its FinTech advancements to fully realize the potential of interoperable mobile money systems, benefiting individuals and nations alike.