The State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems in Africa (SIIPS) 2025 report provides a comprehensive look at how instant payment systems are evolving across the continent and where the next phase of impact will come from.

While the rapid growth of Person-to-Person (P2P) payments has helped establish strong national payment rails, the report’s spotlight chapters point to a clear conclusion: long-term scalability and economic impact depend on expanding into higher-volume use cases. Government-to-Person (G2P) and cross-border payments are emerging as two of the most powerful drivers of sustainable growth for Instant Payment Systems (IPS).

For inclusive instant payment systems (IIPS), G2P and cross-border payment use cases are not optional add-ons. They are essential to the long-term sustainability of Instant Payment Systems. These use cases can drive continent-wide economic growth, deepen financial inclusion, and improve the daily lives of millions.

The Next Frontier: Using IPS for Faster, Cheaper Cross-Border Payments

Cross-border payments represent a major economic opportunity. In 2023 alone, Africa received more than $100 billion in remittances, a critical source of income for millions of households.

For decades, cross-border payments in Africa have relied on correspondent banking models that are slow, expensive, and limited to business hours. Transfers can take days—or even weeks—and costs remain extremely high. In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa was still the most expensive region in the world to send money, with an average cost of 8.45% to send $200.

The SIIPS 2025 report points to a shift. IPS-enabled cross-border payments are emerging as the next cross-border play in Africa, with the potential to replace costly traditional models. While only 11 of the 36 live IPS currently support cross-border transactions, this is up from six in 2024. This growth reflects a broader push toward financial integration across the continent.

What IPS Enables for Cross-Border Payments

• Lower costs and faster transfers
  Direct IPS linkages can significantly reduce transaction costs and deliver funds in seconds instead of days. These corridors are designed to undercut traditional money transfer operators while offering instant and irrevocable settlement—directly addressing the high fees that discourage digital payment use.
• New revenue streams for IPS operators
  Cross-border functionality allows IPS operators to move beyond domestic transaction fees and evolve from basic utilities into multi-functional platforms.
• Expanded market reach for participants
  For participating PSPs, a single IPS connection can provide access to all counterparties in another market—far beyond what bilateral aggregator agreements can offer. Harmonized scheme rules also reduce operational and compliance complexity, enabling faster, more cost-effective remittance and trade payment services.

Despite these opportunities, challenges remain, including fragmented regulation, technical constraints such as messaging standards, and complex foreign exchange settlement processes. The full report explores these barriers and potential solutions in detail.

A Catalyst for Inclusion: Modernizing Government-to-Person (G2P) Payments

Each year, African governments distribute billions of dollars through salaries, pensions, and social protection programs. The World Bank estimates that more than one in four adults receives a G2P payment annually, with cash transfers alone totaling around $31 billion per year.

Traditional cash-based delivery methods are costly, slow, and vulnerable to leakage and security risks. SIIPS 2025 finds that IPS provides the infrastructure needed to modernize G2P payments and accelerate financial inclusion. Yet only 10 of Africa’s 36 live IPS currently support G2P payments, leaving significant untapped potential.

G2P in Practice:

• Nigeria (NIP): The NIP system has enabled G2P payments for various government ministries and agencies, driven by a desire for greater transparency and security. The government's recent mandate that all payments have National Identity Number (NIN) validation is expected to further boost G2P transaction volumes through NIP.
• Egypt (Meeza Digital): Egypt provides a clear example of a government-led mandate. The state has directed that disbursements for its flagship anti-poverty cash transfer program, Takaful and Karama, transition to the Meeza Card rail. This is powered by a technical link between the Meeza Digital IPS and e-Finance, the state-owned payments processor, creating a streamlined and efficient national social protection system.

What IPS Enables for G2P Payments

• For IPS Operators: Enabling G2P payments transforms an IPS from a commercial service into critical national infrastructure. It provides an increased and predictable stream of transaction volume, which is essential for achieving long-term financial sustainability and scalability.

• For IPS Participants: IPS-enabled G2P payments allow PSPs to expand their customer base and drive daily usage. G2P programs offer a compelling reason for millions of unbanked individuals to open their first formal accounts, resulting in a substantial and predictable influx of new customers participating in PSPs. Once these digital payments are received, they stimulate a cascade of subsequent transactions, as recipients are more likely to use their new accounts for everyday purchases, bill payments, and transfers, thereby increasing transaction volumes and revenue. This sustained engagement also transforms a simple transactional relationship into a gateway for cross-selling higher-value financial services, such as credit and insurance, to a previously untapped market segment.

• For End-Users: For millions of Africans, a G2P payment is their most critical financial lifeline. Furthermore, G2P payments serve as a powerful on-ramp to the formal financial system for unbanked and underserved populations, building the familiarity and confidence needed to move from tentative trials to habitual digital use. When individuals receive social transfers or salaries directly into a bank or mobile money account via an IPS, they are immediately brought into the formal financial ecosystem. This builds familiarity and trust, encouraging them to use their accounts for savings, purchases, and other transactions. When a pension or social cash transfer arrives instantly, it builds trust in the digital system.

While P2P payments laid the groundwork for Africa’s instant payments ecosystem, SIIPS 2025 makes one point clear: G2P and cross-border payments are the real accelerators of scale and impact. They generate the volumes needed for sustainability, unlock new economic opportunities for operators, and address the most critical financial needs of users.

To explore detailed case studies, data insights, and policy recommendations, download the full SIIPS 2025 report.