Ghana has entered a strategic partnership with Rwanda, Zambia and several other African collaborators to introduce a continental digital trade corridor intended to strengthen economic integration and improve compatibility in financial transactions throughout the continent.
Vice President Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang disclosed the initiative during the 3i Africa Summit held in Accra on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. She explained that the pilot programme will concentrate on mobile money interoperability, reciprocal recognition of digital identification systems for cross border know your customer verification processes, together with the standardisation of electronic invoicing mechanisms across participating African economies.
According to the Vice President, the initiative will undergo implementation, evaluation and performance assessment as participating states work toward establishing a more connected continental financial ecosystem capable of supporting seamless commercial activity between African businesses and consumers.
She explained that the broader ambition behind the programme is to allow Ghanaian enterprises to issue invoices to clients across Africa and receive payments directly in cedis with greater speed, improved efficiency and significantly lower transaction costs.
Professor Opoku Agyemang stated that the initiative builds upon recent modernisation efforts undertaken within Ghana’s payment infrastructure to support cross border financial transactions. She indicated that once the framework becomes fully operational, businesses across the continent would be able to trade within African markets without excessive dependence on foreign financial intermediaries and external settlement systems.
The Vice President further observed that a substantial portion of intra African financial transactions currently passes through payment platforms situated outside the continent, a process she said contributes to additional expenses, prolonged transaction periods and inefficiencies that weaken the objective of establishing a unified African marketplace.
She nevertheless acknowledged the progress already achieved under the Pan African Payment and Settlement System and pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area Digital Trade Protocol adopted by the African Union in 2024 as an important regulatory framework capable of advancing digital commercial transactions between African states.
No official implementation schedule was announced for the rollout of the proposed digital trade corridor.
Speaking at the summit as well, Clara B Arthur, Chief Executive of Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited, revealed that Ghana’s payment infrastructure is currently being upgraded to comply with the internationally recognised ISO 20022 financial messaging standard.
She explained that the migration toward the global standard would synchronise Ghana’s financial architecture with leading international payment systems and markets while enabling more comprehensive transaction information, improved transparency and faster settlement processes.
Arthur stated that the adoption of the standard would allow Ghana’s payment ecosystem to communicate more effectively with major global financial infrastructure networks, thereby improving efficiency and supporting more sophisticated financial services.
She further stressed that GhIPSS is positioning itself to integrate with additional instant payment platforms throughout Africa, insisting that cross border interoperability will define the next phase of digital financial development on the continent.
According to her, the institution also intends to provide foundational infrastructure capable of supporting technology partners and innovators developing solutions aimed at expanding financial access and deepening financial inclusion across the region.
Arthur additionally disclosed that ongoing engagement is taking place with virtual asset service providers following the passage of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, with authorities seeking to encourage technological innovation within a regulated and supervised financial environment.
