(Ecofin Agency) - Despite double-digit growth in the volume and value of transactions processed over the past five years, none of the 31 active instant payment systems on the continent have reached a mature level of inclusivity, characterized by coverage of all use cases, the availability of strong grievance mechanisms, and low costs for end users.

In 2023, active instant payment systems (SPI) across Africa processed a record 49 billion transactions, totaling a value of $1,036 billion, according to a report released on November 20 by AfricaNenda, an independent organization focused on digital financial services development in collaboration with the World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The report, titled "The State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa SIIPS 2024," reveals that transaction volumes handled by these systems grew by an average of 37% per year from 2019 to 2023.

The value of these transactions also saw an average annual growth of 39% over the past five years.

Based on interviews with industry stakeholders, digital financial services experts, central banks, and consumer surveys, the report shows that Africa had 31 active instant payment systems as of June 2024, down from 32 in June 2023. These include 28 national systems and 3 regional systems: the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), GIMACPAY (CEMAC), and TCIB (SADC).

Between July 2023 and June 2024, two new systems were launched: KWiK in Angola and LeSwitch in Lesotho. Three systems previously listed in 2022 and 2023 were removed from the database due to non-compliance with inclusion criteria at the time of the update. These include SYRAD (Djibouti), which is not fully operational; NamPay (Namibia), which does not operate 24/7 year-round; and the Somalia Instant Payment Network, which is undergoing modernization and is not yet fully functional.

Seven countries Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania have multiple operational SPIs, with Ghana being the only country where national systems are interoperable. Overall, 26 African countries currently have instant payment systems, with an additional 27 countries planning to launch their own systems in the near future.

The report also highlights mobile apps as the most widely used channel for instant payments, with at least 30 systems using this method. Mobile apps offer a more personalized user experience and can be outsourced to third-party technology providers, including fintechs. The second most common channel is USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), used by 23 systems, allowing access on basic mobile phones despite security concerns due to the lack of message encryption. Other channels, including human-assisted methods (through mobile money and banking agents), QR codes, point-of-sale (POS) systems, ATMs, and near-field communication (NFC), are less commonly used.

The 31 active instant payment systems in Africa are categorized into four main types. Multi-domain SPIs, which enable interactions between bank accounts and mobile money wallets, are the most common, with 14 systems. Mobile money SPIs follow with 9, and bank-based SPIs account for 7. Only one system uses central bank digital currency (CBDC), specifically Nigeria’s eNaira.

Mobile money SPIs handle the largest transaction volumes, while multi-domain systems manage the highest transaction values. Between 2022 and 2023, the value of transactions processed by multi-domain systems rose by 63%, compared to 28% for bank-based systems and 16% for mobile money systems.

All of Africa’s instant payment systems support person-to-person (P2P) transactions, and 24 enable person-to-business (P2B) payments. However, only 12 systems allow person-to-government (P2G) payments, such as taxes, while only 6 support government-to-person (G2P) payments, like pensions and social transfers. Cross-border payments are enabled by just 6 systems.

The report also notes that no instant payment system in Africa has yet reached a fully mature level of inclusivity, characterized by comprehensive case coverage, consumer grievance mechanisms beyond regulatory requirements, and low transaction costs for end users.

However, nine systems are moving toward this ideal, including Instant Pay and Mobile Money Interoperability (Ghana), GIMACPAY (CEMAC), Natswitch (Malawi), and National Financial Switch (Zambia).

Twelve African instant payment systems are currently at a basic inclusivity level, offering the most used channels and minimal functionality for core use cases, while ten others are not yet classified due to not meeting the basic inclusivity criteria, such as lacking P2B integration.