Africa’s growing intra-regional trade is running into an old problem: moving money across borders remains slower, more expensive and more complicated than moving the goods and services being paid for.

Businesses are having to navigate multiple currencies, fragmented banking systems, limited liquidity and different regulatory regimes, turning what should be a routine supplier payment into a costly financial exercise.

That is creating a battle for control of Africa’s next-generation payments infrastructure, with fintechs, banks and regional payment networks racing to make cross-border transactions faster and cheaper.

New rails such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), alongside blockchain-based systems and stablecoins, are challenging the traditional correspondent banking model that has dominated international payments.

Verto, a cross-border payments company, argues that the biggest problem is no longer simply access to payment services but certainty — knowing upfront what a transaction will cost, how long it will take and exactly how much the recipient will receive.

The company says stablecoins and other digital payment rails could cut settlement times and costs, but insists that technology alone cannot overcome Africa’s regulatory and currency fragmentation.

In an exclusive interview with The Star Verto co founder Anthony Oduwole, outlines how it sees the payments market evolving as digital currencies, PAPSS and fintech infrastructure converge.

As an industry player, what are the biggest pain points businesses still face when moving money across African borders?

The biggest problem in African cross-border payments isn't access; it's certainty.

A business needs to know how much a payment will cost, when it will arrive and exactly how much the recipient will receive.

That sounds simple, but across Africa you're connecting different currencies, banking systems, liquidity pools and regulatory regimes.

A payment from Kenya to Nigeria can therefore be considerably more complicated than the commercial transaction behind it.

The next generation of payment companies won't win simply by offering more currencies or features. They'll win by removing that uncertainty, making FX transparent, settlement predictable and cross-border payments feel as straightforward as domestic payments.

For us, the real problem worth solving is not just making a payment possible, but making it something a business can rely on.

What problems do blockchain and stablecoins genuinely solve, and where is the hype getting ahead of reality?

The first question should be whether the technology makes a transaction faster, cheaper or clearer for the person paying the bill. If it does, technology earns a role.

Blockchain can make the movement of value more transparent and programmable, while stablecoins can potentially make settlement between markets more direct. Both are useful in specific parts of the payment journey.

But neither, on its own, gets a Kenyan exporter paid. You still need liquidity in the local currency, a licensed way to convert it and clear rules for who's accountable if something goes wrong.

Moving a digital dollar from one wallet to another is not the same as completing an enterprise payment.

Technology should therefore be judged by the outcome: does it make transactions faster, cheaper, more transparent or easier to reconcile?

How do you see stablecoins changing the way businesses move money across Africa?

The number that actually changes minds isn't the stablecoin concept; it's the invoice. Settlement that used to take a SWIFT wire one to five business days can now clear in minutes, at a flat 0.15% payout fee instead of a $25 wire charge plus correspondent banking deductions.

I see stablecoins becoming another useful rail within the payments ecosystem, particularly for cross-border settlement, allowing value to move between markets without following every step of the traditional correspondent banking journey.

But adoption will be driven by practical economics. A CFO will want to know the total cost, how liquidity is managed, the regulatory framework, how funds are converted into local currency and what happens when the money reaches the recipient.

We're still early in that journey, but the long-term opportunity is real. Stablecoins are more likely to work alongside fiat currencies, banks and payment providers than replace them overnight.

Could stablecoins eventually reduce Africa's reliance on correspondent banking?

Realistically, they'll sit alongside the existing system for some time rather than replace it. Banks aren't disappearing: companies still need accounts, local currency and regulated partners.

What stablecoins can do is strip out costs with fewer intermediaries and less time spent in transit.

The bigger prize is interoperability rather than replacement. A finance team shouldn't need to know which rail moved its money. It should simply know that the money arrived securely, in minutes rather than days, for the amount expected.

How significant is PAPSS for the future of intra-African trade?

Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is significant because it addresses a structural problem holding back intra-African trade: why should a Kenyan importer paying a Nigerian supplier have to route the transaction through London or New York?

Settling directly in local currencies can eliminate unnecessary conversions and the costs that come with them.

But the system itself won't move the needle without adoption. Banks, fintechs and other providers need to connect to it, while traders need to know the option exists.

I don't see PAPSS and private fintechs as rivals. PAPSS builds the rails; companies like Verto build products people actually use on top of them.

Fintechs can act as accelerants of adoption rather than competitors to regional payment infrastructure.

What does greater regulation of virtual asset service providers mean for digital currencies and blockchain payments in Africa?

This is worth paying close attention to because the regulatory clock is already running in Kenya. A business moving serious money across borders needs to know who is licensed to move it.

The real test is whether regulators can build trust without moving so cautiously that legitimate use cases cannot get off the ground.

For Africa, regulatory clarity can actually accelerate adoption. Businesses are much more likely to use new payment models when they understand the rules of the game.

How is Verto balancing speed, compliance, transparency and reliability?

We start with the transaction the customer actually needs to complete.

If an importer needs to pay a supplier, the question isn't whether we have an impressive technology stack. It's whether the supplier gets paid on time, whether the FX cost is clear and whether the business can see and manage its funds throughout the process.

That is why we focus on speed, transparent FX, liquidity and settlement certainty, while maintaining the regulatory controls required to operate responsibly.

New rails will keep emerging, and we'll adopt those that genuinely cut a step for the customer.

Can blockchain, stablecoins and interoperable payment systems solve Africa's fragmentation problem?

Technology can bridge technical fragmentation, but it cannot eliminate regulatory fragmentation.

We already see digital rails settle in minutes for a flat 0.15% fee, so moving value quickly and cheaply is no longer the hardest part. The challenge is developing systems that can communicate with each other while regulators move toward frameworks that do not force every cross-border transaction to be reinvented market by market.

If those two things develop together, the impact could be significant. Complexity can increasingly be handled by infrastructure rather than by the business itself.

What will Africa's cross-border payments landscape look like in five years?

In five years, I don't think anyone will be asking, "stablecoins or banks."

Traditional banking rails will remain important, but they will increasingly connect with instant payment systems, fintech infrastructure, regional payment networks and digital-asset rails.

The business should no longer have to understand which system sits underneath a transaction. If a company needs to pay a supplier in another market, it should initiate the payment and have the infrastructure determine the most efficient route based on cost, liquidity, currency and settlement requirements.

The real shift will be in treasury. Once a company operates across five or six markets, a single payment stops being the hard part. Managing cash flow, currency exposure and multiple balances becomes the bigger challenge. That's the next phase fintech needs to solve.

Where does Verto see its biggest opportunity?

I want Verto known for one thing: when you send money through us, you already know what happens before it happens.

Intra-African trade is growing faster than the financial systems supporting it, and that gap is the opportunity. Africa's commercial connections are expanding, but the financial systems supporting them don't always move at the same speed.

Cost is part of it: we already cut cross-border payment costs by up to 40 per cent and processing time by up to 30 per cent for the businesses we work with. But the bigger prize is removing the guesswork, knowing your FX rate, settlement time and obligations before you hit send, not after.