The National Bank of Rwanda and the Bank of Ghana, in partnership with Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), have launched Africa's Next-Gen Digital Payment Infrastructure to facilitate real-time cross-border transactions and accelerate the continent's digital economy.
Formerly Elevandi, GFTN is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024 to serve expanding Singapore's fintech ecosystem globally.
Formally known as Project 54, the new project was launched during the Inclusive Fintech Forum 2025, on February 25, bringing together over 3,000 participants including government officials, policymakers, regulators, technology experts, and investors, among others.
The pace of innovation has been significantly transformational across economies with artificial intelligence, digital currencies, and embedded finance have evolved from emerging technologies to rapidly maturing forces revolutionizing financial services.
Africa's digital financial services is dominated by fintechs, poised to generate $40 billion in revenue by 2028. However, players in this growing industry have often called out regulatory constraints and limited digital infrastructure that impede the realization of this potential.
John Rwangombwa, the former Governor of Rwanda's central bank, who launched the new project, Africa's Next-Gen Digital Payment Infrastructure, said that the acceleration demands an equally swift response from regulators, financial institutions, and market players to harness these innovations for inclusive growth.
The initiative was conceived and shaped by different discussions at the 3i Africa Summit in Accra, the Zurich Point Zero Forum, and the Singapore FinTech Festival, recognizing that Africa is home to one of the most dynamic financial ecosystems, yet cross-border transactions remain costly and inefficient, limiting trade and financial inclusion.
The digital infrastructure initiative offers solution to these challenges, Rwangombwa said, adding that it goes beyond technology to providing economic empowerment, financial resilience, and ensuring that Africa's digital economy is built on an infrastructure that meets the needs of businesses and individuals alike.
Africa's Next-Gen Digital Payment Infrastructure is structured around three pillars. They include a trusted identity infrastructure that ensures secure, verifiable, and universal digital identities that facilitate seamless financial transactions; and an interoperable payment system which will create a standardized infrastructure allowing real-time cross-border transactions within the African financial ecosystem.
It also features a license passporting and data exchange framework that seeks to strengthen data integrity and financial inclusion by enabling the secure exchange of verified business and individual data across jurisdictions.
"As stewards of the financial system, we must remain steadfast in our mission to break down barriers, empower businesses, and create inclusive opportunities for all. Through initiatives like this, we are shaping the future of Africa's financial landscape," Rwangombwa said.
Johnson Asiama, the Governor of Bank of Ghana, said that this is a milestone towards an integrated African capital market with prospects of enhancing the livelihoods of people and creates opportunities of entrepreneurs, especially SMEs.
"The pursuit of a safe, affordable and efficient cross-border regional payment architecture, boosted by a license passporting framework represents another significant ladder of progress."
Refining regulatory approaches can enable the optimal balance between financial stability and innovation-powered economic growth, he added.
Implementation pillars
Rwangombwa explained that the rollout of the initiative will be anchored on four key areas to create an effective cross-border payment infrastructure built on a forward-thinking regulatory framework that balances risk and opportunity.
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He said: "Africa's Next-Gen Digital Payment Infrastructure will be developed in close alignment with global financial standards to ensure resilience, security, and regulatory foresight."
The implementation will follow governance rules that define dispute resolution mechanisms, liability frameworks, and enhanced local currency settlement models. It will also look at technology integration and advancement that explore tokenization and digital currency use cases to drive innovation.
It will also feature a pricing model that will be adopted for low-value and high-value transactions to ensure financial viability, as well as stakeholder engagement bringing together regulators, financial institutions, fintech innovators, and investors in co-creating a sustainable digital payments ecosystem.
