Open Source Powers Payments Across COMESA to Drive Financial Inclusion: By Paula Hunter
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is taking a significant step toward regional financial integration and economic empowerment by deploying an open source, inclusive instant payment system (IIPS) as the backbone of its new regional payments system. Led by the COMESA Clearing House (CCH), this initiative marks a bold move to foster financial inclusion and unlock growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the 21-member trading block.
Addressing the MSME Payment Gap
MSMEs are the economic lifeblood of the COMESA region. Yet, many face a critical barrier to growth: a lack of access to efficient, affordable cross-border payment systems. This new open source IIPS-powered system is designed specifically to close that gap — enabling digital financial service providers (DFSPs) to connect seamlessly across borders and opening up new opportunities for trade and innovation.
By offering DFSPs a gateway to connect where no domestic instant payment system exists — or integrating through inclusive domestic systems — COMESA is building a network that meets participants where they are. This flexible approach ensures that even countries with limited digital financial infrastructure can participate and benefit from the regional ecosystem.
Laying the Groundwork for Regional Interoperability
Several COMESA member states are already exploring an open source IIPS as a way to modernize their payment infrastructure and migrate key use cases from legacy systems. The IIPS' open-source foundation provides the transparency, flexibility, and scalability needed to support a wide range of use cases — from peer-to-peer transfers to merchant payments and beyond.
Importantly, the architecture allows for domestic schemes to connect to regional and even global networks. For example, countries like Rwanda plan to leverage the open source foundation of RSwitch's IIPS (eKash) interoperability capabilities to connect domestic systems to global schemes —broadening access and creating a more inclusive digital economy.
A Model for Regional Integration
The COMESA initiative offers a powerful model for other regions seeking to deepen economic integration while advancing financial inclusion. By enabling real-time, cross-border payments tailored to the needs of MSMEs, COMESA is not just building financial infrastructure — it's laying the foundation for inclusive growth across Africa.
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