PesaLink, Kenya's instant payment network operated by Integrated Payment Services Limited, formally connected to the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System on 26 February 2026. The partnership designates PesaLink as a Technical Connectivity Provider, routing inbound PAPSS payments into Kenya's domestic financial infrastructure, which includes commercial banks, savings cooperatives, fintech platforms, and telecom-linked mobile money services.
The connection enables instant cross-border payments in local currencies, eliminating the need for USD intermediation on the Kenya corridor. Businesses and individuals across PAPSS-connected countries can now send payments that terminate directly into Kenyan bank accounts and mobile money wallets through the PesaLink network. Settlements are processed in near real-time, reducing what previously took days through correspondent banking channels to seconds.
PesaLink is the first national payment switch that PAPSS has piloted for direct transaction termination, a model the pan-African system plans to replicate across other markets. The integration supports the African Continental Free Trade Area's objective of deepening intra-African trade by removing payment friction between economies. PAPSS, an initiative of the African Export-Import Bank in collaboration with the African Union, now connects participants across more than 20 countries with over 160 commercial banks and 14 national payment switches integrated into the network.
Kenya is one of East Africa's largest economies and a key corridor for remittances and trade payments. The PesaLink network processes domestic instant payments for the majority of Kenya's commercial banking sector. Adding PAPSS connectivity extends this reach across the continent, allowing Kenyan exporters, importers, and diaspora communities to transact directly in African currencies without routing through offshore clearing centres.