New African payment platform to ease dollar crisis, boost trade

Businesses have recently complained of difficulty in accessing the dollar in quantities they want. [iStockphoto]

Kenya has welcomed a renewed push by African ministers of Finance backed by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) for a regional Africa-wide cross-border payment system.

The new system is tipped to cut the time it takes to conclude cross-border payments from up to 14 days to 120 seconds and facilitate payments for proceeds made from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).