STORY: Africa's push for local currency payments systems is finally making gains.
The goal is to bring less costly trade to a continent long impacted by dollar transactions.
It's creating payments systems that do not rely on the greenback.
And mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions.
Countries like Russia are also keen for an alternative to the dollar.
But while that movement has gained a sense of urgency due to geopolitical realignments, African advocates for payment alternatives are making their case based on costs.
The continent's commercial banks typically rely on overseas counterparts.
The so-called correspondent banking relationships facilitate settlements of international payments.
Including those between African neighbors.
It adds significantly to transaction costs that have helped make trade in Africa 50% more expensive than the global average, according to the UN.
And under the existing system, a $200 million trade between two parties in different African countries is estimated to cost 10% to 30% of the value of the deal.
That's according to the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System, or PAPSS, which facilitates transactions in local currencies.
It said the shift to homegrown payments systems could slash the cost to just 1%.
Systems like PAPSS allow a business in one country to pay for goods from another.
Both the buyer and seller receive payment in their respective currencies rather than converting them into dollars to complete the transaction.
Launched in January 2022 PAPSS is today operational in 15 African countries.
But talk of moving away from the dollar - either for trade or as a reserve currency - has drawn aggressive reactions from President Trump.
He's determined to preserve the dollar as the dominant currency for global trade and has threatened retaliation.
