InstaPay to connect with pan-African payment system as six Egyptian banks apply for integration
· Egyptian market news
The African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank) is planning to connect its Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to Egypt’s InstaPay app earlier this month
What is PAPSS? Launched in 2022 November 2024
Egypt’s Africa trade architecture: back in 2018 May 2019 October 2022 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa ratified Tripartite Freetrade Area member of Brics
What’s in it for Egypt?
Egypt runs a trade surplus of around USD 3.2 bn with PAPSS member countries
Overall, Egypt accounted for 4.35% of intra-African trade in 2025 African Trade Report 2026 (pdf)
SMEs stand to benefit most:
Will it break our dependence on the greenback? The short answer is no.
Both ends need building
InstaPay was built as a domestic instant payments rail
Connecting PAPSS to all Egyptian banks is a near-term priority integration with Meeza cards
Egypt is not a marginal participant: