Gov’t to test cross-border digital trade systems with Rwanda and Zambia

By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU

Ghana will partner Rwanda, Zambia and other African countries to pilot a continental digital trade corridor aimed at improving cross-border payments, digital identity verification and electronic invoicing, Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman announced at the 3i Africa Summit in Accra.

The pilot marks Ghana’s latest push to position itself at the centre of Africa’s digital finance integration agenda as policymakers seek to reduce the cost and inefficiencies associated with intra-African transactions, many of which are still routed through offshore financial systems and settled in third-party currencies.

Speaking at the summit, the Vice President said this initiative will focus on mobile money interoperability, mutual recognition frameworks, cross-border digital Know-Your-Customer (KYC) systems and harmonised electronic invoicing.

The project will be “implemented, tested and measured” as African economies seek practical models for digital trade integration.

“The systems we build will determine whether Africa participates in the global digital economy on its own terms or operates within frameworks defined elsewhere,” she said.

The announcement comes as African regulators and payment infrastructure providers intensify efforts to align financial systems under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, which aims to enable local currency settlement across borders.

Prof. Opoku-Agyeman said economic competitiveness increasingly depends on digital integration, arguing that participation in trade now requires the ability to transact securely, establish digital identity and operate seamlessly across jurisdictions.

“In many cases, intra-African transactions are still routed through financial systems outside the continent and denominated in third currencies,” she said, adding that this arrangement raises transaction costs, creates delays and weakens the objective of a single African market.

Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama said the next phase of digital finance growth in Africa will extend beyond basic payments infrastructure into services such as digital credit, embedded finance, merchant payments, supply-chain finance and cross-border financial products.

“The issue is no longer access alone. It is fragmentation. It is cost. It is uneven regulatory alignment,” Dr. Asiama said. “The challenge is no longer building systems. It is connecting them.”

He said the central bank is advancing regulatory reforms covering virtual assets, digital credit, open banking and cross-border fintech activity as part of efforts to create a structured and predictable digital finance ecosystem capable of scaling responsibly.

Governor Asiama also stressed the importance of stronger digital identity and KYC systems, warning that weak authentication frameworks increase fraud risks and undermine trust in digital finance.

The summit also highlighted Ghana’s efforts to modernise its payment infrastructure. Chief Executive of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems, Clara Arthur, said GhIPSS is migrating Ghana’s national payment systems to the ISO 20022 global messaging standard to improve interoperability with international financial markets.

According to Ms. Arthur, the migration will support richer transaction data, faster settlement and smoother cross-border integration. GhIPSS is also strengthening partnerships with regional and international card schemes while exploring collaborations with virtual asset service providers following the passage of Ghana’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act.

Arthur said future growth in African digital finance will depend on deeper interoperability across payment systems. “The future of digital finance lies in cross-border interoperability,” she said.

The broader policy direction signals increasing recognition among African policymakers that digital infrastructure, regulatory coordination and interoperable payment systems are becoming critical to expanding trade, financial inclusion and private-sector participation under AfCFTA. However, challenges remain around uneven internet access, fragmented regulation, digital identity coverage and data infrastructure capacity across the continent.

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