Fidelity Bank launches Paps to improve cross -border payments

● Record on pre-launch transactions N46 billion

Fidelity Bank Plc officially launched Pan-African Payment and the regulation system (Paps) in Nigeria, following an impressive N46 billion transactions recorded during its early adoption phase.

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The launch, which follows the onboarding of the Paps platform bank in September 2024, marks a big step to facilitate faster, cheaper and safer cross -border payments throughout Africa, in particular for small and medium -sized enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking at the launch event of Lagos, Kevin Ugwuoke, executive director and Chief Risk Officer, Fidelity Bank, described the Padress partnership as a strategic milestone to remove one of the largest commercial barriers in Africa: cross -border payments.

“As the main supporter of Nigeria delle PMI, this partnership positions us to serve this critical market segment with greater efficiency and impact. The role of paps is not only a victory for Fidelity Bank, but for businesses, entrepreneurs and people who trade, transfer funds and make payments through the borders of Africa,” said Ugwuoke.

Ponse is designed to allow local currency transactions between African countries, eliminating the need to pass payments through foreign banks.

This innovation aligns with the African free exchange from the continental free exchange (AFCFTA) allowing SMEs to trade directly in its currencies, promoting growth and expanding market opportunities.

Ugwuoke revealed that Fidelity Bank has launched a customer awareness campaign to highlight the advantages Paps and soon extend the service to its mobile and online banking platforms.

“With dads, we are offering faster cross -border transfrontier transactions, reducing dependence on the foreign currency, allowing more predictable cash flows and, above all, allowing our customers to grow their activities throughout the continent with greater trust,” he added.

Katherine Oba, head of the international operations of the Fidelity Bank, revealed that the bank had developed over N46 billion of duck transactions from adoption.

The system completes the settlements within 120 seconds, allowing the senders to pay in local currency while the recipients receive funds in theirs.

“For example, a customer who sends money from Nigeria to Ghana will have their account charged to Naira, while the recipient receives Cedis. This also means that exporters can now receive payment in Naira for goods sold in Africa, with these settlements recognized pursuant to the export procedures of the CBN. Even the transaction commissions are competitive”, noted OBA.

According to paps, Africa loses over 5 billion dollars a year in the costs of processing payments due to dependence on external systems, with intra-African trade which represents only 13-16% of total-sized trade below 60% of Asia and 70% in Europe.
Speaking at the launch with Fidelity Bank, Mike Ogbalu, Ponse’s CEO, stressed that the platform is built according to global standards but owned by the Africans.

“Ponte is the creation of a vision of over 60 years in progress – to give Africa their payment infrastructure, thus braking excess processing costs. Today dads are integrated into the fundamental systems of different central banks and over 150 commercial banks throughout Africa, with Fidelity Bank as one of the first in Nigeria to meet all requirements,” said Ogbalu.

“We see Fidelity Bank as a key partner to achieve this goal and we can’t wait to extend this collaboration to SMEs, individuals, large companies and governments throughout Africa,” added Ogbalu.

With this launch, Fidelity Bank strengthens its position as leader of innovation in the panorama of African financial services, offering its customers a powerful tool to trade, invest and grow beyond borders.

Classified among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a money bank for full -length commercial deposits that serves over 9.1 million customers through digital bank channels, its 255 commercial offices in Nigeria and controlled by the United Kingdom, Fidbank UK Limited.

The bank is the recipient of numerous local and international prizes, including the 2024 Excellence Prize in Digital Transformation & Msme Banking Award by Businessday Banks and Financial Institutions (Bafi); The 2024 most innovative mobile banking application for its app for the Fidelity Mobile of Global Business Outlook and the most innovative investment service providers of 2024 by Global Brands Magazine.

In addition, the bank was recognized as the best bank for SMEs in Nigeria by Euromoney prizes for excellence and as export financing bank by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (Bafi) Awards.

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