African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the commercial launch of the Afreximbank Trade Payment Services Called AfPAY– an intervention designed to facilitate the settlement of international trade on open account terms on behalf of identified African financial institutions and their clients.
According to a statement, Afreximbank developed the product specifically to address the banking challenges confronting African economies due to the withdrawal of many international banks from the continent.
“Over the years, financial institutions on the continent have suffered from the reduction in their access to international correspondent banking services to facilitate their international trade.
“This curtailment of trade lines effectively shut the entrance of our Financial Institutions to the rest of the world. Trade is the number one driver of growth, and banks’ inability to participate in trade transactions will lead to reduced growth in our economies and increased poverty.”
Afreximbank
For some time now, the trade payment which has been in a pilot phase for over a year now, currently facilitates over half a billion dollars in monthly payments across our member states. “Notably, Zimbabwe has participated actively in the pilot, with twenty of its financial institutions using the solution,” the statement added.
Limited Access to Dependable Banking Partners
Comenting on the launch, the Executive Vice President, Finance & Administration, Afreximbank, Mr. Denys Denya, said, “African banks have, for at least a generation, been dogged by the limited access to dependable banking partners willing to support their cross-border trade transactions”.
“We are pleased to introduce into the market a product which transforms this dynamic, which we believe will accelerate cross-border trade on this continent, connecting Africa with an international financial eco-system that will accelerate its development and economic growth.”
Mr. Denys Denya
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.
A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2021, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at about US$25 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$4 billion.
Afreximbank disbursed more than US$51 billion between 2016 and 2021. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
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