Kenya's PesaLink instant payment platform connected to PAPSS on February 26, 2026, linking more than 80 Kenyan banks, fintechs, SACCOs, and telecommunications operators to the pan-African instant payment network. The connection enables 24/7 cross-border payments settled in local currencies between PAPSS participants and Kenyan financial institutions.
East Africa's Largest Economy Joins the Network
Kenya is the largest economy in East Africa to join PAPSS. As the home of M-Pesa - the mobile payment service that has been replicated across Africa and beyond - PesaLink's connection brings both volume potential and operational credibility to the network.
The integration connects PesaLink's 80-plus participants to the more than 160 commercial banks and fintechs already on the PAPSS platform across 19 countries. Settlement in local currencies eliminates the need for participants to convert through the US dollar or other hard currencies for intra-African transactions, directly addressing one of the core inefficiencies in African cross-border payments.
PAPSS Network Growth
The Kenya connection follows PAPSS expansions into Morocco and Algeria in 2025 and South Africa's formal joining of Afreximbank earlier in 2026. The network now spans a substantial portion of Africa's economic geography, though gaps remain in parts of francophone West Africa and the East African interior.
PAPSS processes transactions on a payment-versus-payment basis with net settlement through Afreximbank, which acts as the settlement agent. This model reduces counterparty risk and foreign exchange exposure for participating institutions while enabling instant delivery of funds to end recipients.
What to Watch
The key metric will be transaction volumes through the PesaLink-PAPSS corridor over the coming quarters. Kenya's established digital payment culture and high mobile money penetration suggest adoption potential, but success will depend on commercial bank and fintech willingness to actively route cross-border flows through the PAPSS channel rather than traditional correspondent banking arrangements.