The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has launched a new Digital Retail Payments Platform to facilitate seamless cross-border transactions across its 21 member states. The initiative, designed to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and lower transaction costs, aims to strengthen trade integration among economies including Kenya, Egypt, Malawi, and Zambia. The launch marks a key milestone in COMESA’s drive to promote regional financial inclusion and expand access to digital trade infrastructure, Reuters reported.
The platform allows traders and businesses to make and receive payments in their local currencies, minimizing conversion losses and foreign exchange risks. Trials between Malawi and Zambia have already demonstrated the platform’s efficiency, reducing settlement times and enabling small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to trade more affordably. Kenya’s Trade Minister Lee Kinyanjui described the initiative as “a game changer” for regional commerce, noting that transaction costs could fall to below three percent, a level that would make regional trade far more competitive.
Small and medium enterprises account for roughly 80 percent of all businesses and 60 percent of employment within COMESA member states. By easing cross-border payments, the platform is expected to help SMEs expand into new markets, create jobs, and accelerate economic diversification across the region. COMESA officials said the system will be supported by local banks, fintech firms, and a designated foreign exchange provider to ensure transparency and security.
Analysts believe the digital payments initiative could serve as a model for wider African financial integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area. However, they caution that scaling the system across all member countries will require regulatory alignment, robust cybersecurity safeguards, and sustained political will to maintain interoperability.
