In many African border towns, cross-border payments still depends on informal networks, cash couriers, and delayed settlement cycles. A trader moving goods from Lagos to Accra or from Nairobi to Kigali often faces currency conversion costs, correspondent banking delays, and regulatory friction that can stretch a simple transfer into days. Despite years of integration talks under the African Continental Free Trade Area, payment infrastructure has remained one of the continent’s slowest-moving pieces.
United Bank for Africa is attempting to shift that dynamic by embedding cross-border payments directly into its AI chatbot, LEO. The bank announced that LEO can now process cross-border transactions using the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), an infrastructure developed in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank.
The development makes LEO one of the first AI-powered chat interfaces on the continent to facilitate real-time cross-border payments within Africa. More significantly, it connects conversational banking with continental settlement rails that allow transactions in local currencies, provided central banks in participating countries have approved PAPSS operations.
The structural importance lies less in the chatbot itself and more in the rails beneath it. For decades, African cross-border payments have often been routed through correspondent banks outside the continent, adding layers of cost and settlement risk. PAPSS was designed to reduce that dependency by enabling intra-African clearing and settlement in local currencies. By integrating PAPSS into a retail-facing chatbot, UBA is effectively placing continental infrastructure into everyday banking interactions.
From an economic standpoint, faster settlement cycles reduce working capital pressure for traders and small businesses. If payments clear within seconds rather than days, inventory turnover improves and currency volatility risk narrows. Lower transaction processing fees and zero charges to beneficiaries, as outlined by the bank, also change the cost equation for remittances and regional trade flows.
For UBA, the move reflects a broader shift in how banks compete. Digital interfaces are no longer just customer service tools; they are distribution channels for financial infrastructure. By embedding cross-border functionality into LEO, UBA reduces friction at the user level while relying on PAPSS for backend settlement. This alignment between interface and infrastructure signals a push toward system-level integration rather than incremental app updates.
Group Managing Director and CEO Oliver Alawuba framed the rollout as part of UBA’s pan-African strategy, positioning the bank as a facilitator of continental financial integration. Retail and Digital Banking leadership emphasized speed, security, and confidentiality as key attributes. Yet beyond executive commentary, the deeper question is execution.
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Cross-border payment systems depend on regulatory harmonization. Central bank approvals, foreign exchange controls, anti-money laundering compliance, and data governance requirements differ across jurisdictions. While PAPSS provides a shared framework, scaling usage will require continued coordination among regulators and financial institutions.
There is also the adoption challenge. Traders and small businesses accustomed to informal cash networks may hesitate to formalize flows unless digital systems offer reliability, trust, and cost advantages. Infrastructure must function consistently across markets with varying connectivity and digital literacy levels. A chatbot interface simplifies access, but user education and network stability remain critical.
Capital intensity is another factor. Real-time settlement infrastructure demands resilient technology stacks, cybersecurity investments, and operational oversight. As volumes increase, system performance and fraud prevention mechanisms must scale accordingly. Any disruption in cross-border payments can ripple across supply chains, particularly in regions where trade margins are thin.
Still, the integration aligns with broader continental policy goals. The African Continental Free Trade Area aims to increase intra-African trade by reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers. Payment friction has long been one of those non-tariff barriers. By enabling local-currency transfers between participating countries, PAPSS reduces reliance on hard currencies and external clearing systems.
UBA operates in 20 African countries, alongside offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates, serving over 45 million customers. Embedding cross-border payments into LEO gives the bank a unified digital layer across its footprint, potentially strengthening network effects as more corridors become active.
The rollout does not eliminate structural challenges in African finance, but it does signal a shift toward integrating policy infrastructure with consumer-facing technology. If adoption grows and regulatory alignment continues, conversational banking could become an entry point into deeper continental financial connectivity.
For now, the test will be scale. Real transformation will depend on transaction volumes, corridor expansion, and sustained regulatory cooperation. But the direction is clear: Africa’s payment future is being built not only in policy rooms and settlement systems, but increasingly inside the everyday interfaces through which customers move money.
