Over 30 financial institutions from countries within the Common Monetary Area – such as South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia – are set to adopt BankservAfrica’s instant cross-border payment system, according to Ruhling Herbst, the organization’s strategy and transformation officer.
BankservAfrica is an automated clearing house on the continent and has been developing a payment scheme to simplify cross-border digital peer-to-peer payments, dubbed Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB).
Notably, BankServAfrica is also the developer of PayShap, officially known as the Rapid Payments Programme (RPP), said to be South Africa’s first instant interbank digital payment offering for low-value payments.
🇿🇦FINTECH AFRICA | How Digital Payment Systems Like #PayShap Are Driving the Cashless Economy in South Africa
Since launch in March 2023, the payments industry has processed over 74.2 million PayShap transactions, totaling $2.64 billion.https://t.co/7xDSeV3bvK @SAReserveBank pic.twitter.com/pmrGi1BJts
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At a media event in Johannesburg in in November 2024, Herbst discussed the progress of TCIB adoption within the Common Monetary Area. By the end of September, TCIB officially began processing low-value payments between individuals in South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Namibia.
According to BankservAfrica CEO, Stephen Linnell, TCIB stands as the strongest alternative to cash, offering a nearly instant transaction experience akin to ‘handing over’ a banknote, with clearance completed within 60 seconds.
According to Linnell, the system, which was officially launched in 2021, operates much like an electronic funds transfer (EFT) but with added benefits, including enhanced security and 24/7 real-time payment processing.
This comes as South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) became the first bank to adopt the TCIB system. According to the bank, the system is not only more cost-effective, it also aids banks in meeting the latest regulatory standards for cross-border payments.
FNB CEO, Richard Porter, indicated that most of FNB’s cross-border payments within the Common Monetary Area were previously handled through EFT. However, due to new regulatory requirements, a different system has become necessary.
“All FNB customers in Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa can now benefit from the TCIB rail when sending money from their bank account across [the] border to other FNB and RMB clients’ bank accounts,” he notes.
Countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which comprises 16 member states, are currently among the most costly for cross-border transactions, according to Herbst. Cash remains prevalent, accounting for around 50% of transactions in the region.
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