The Bank of the Republic of Burundi has highlighted the launch of BurundiPay, its new national instant payment system, alongside a workshop on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that presented continental interoperability as the next stage of payment modernization. BurundiPay makes domestic interoperability available across banks, microfinance institutions and mobile wallets, while PAPSS would extend instant settlement to cross-border African payments in local currencies. BurundiPay was officially launched on 23 April 2026 and was described as the 22nd instant payment system on the continent. The awareness workshop began on 7 May 2026. At the workshop, PAPSS was presented as a centralized infrastructure launched by Afreximbank and the African Union to support intra-African trade, with transfers completed in less than 120 seconds, real-time processing and direct use of local currencies rather than converting Burundian francs into USD or EUR. The release frames Burundi's integration into PAPSS as the next logical step, which would allow Burundian financial institutions to transact instantly with banks in the 19 countries already connected, simplify settlement for Burundian businesses operating abroad and reduce pressure on the central bank's foreign exchange reserves.
Bank of the Republic of Burundi 2026-05-08
Bank of the Republic of Burundi launches BurundiPay and promotes PAPSS integration for cross-border local-currency payments
The Bank of the Republic of Burundi has launched BurundiPay, a national instant payment system providing domestic interoperability across banks, microfinance institutions and mobile wallets, and held a workshop on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) as the next stage of payment modernisation. PAPSS, launched by Afreximbank and the African Union, enables real-time cross-border African payments in local currencies, and Burundi’s planned integration is framed as a way to facilitate instant transactions with institutions in 19 connected countries and ease pressure on the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves.