Africa Fintech Network (AFN) and a coalition of leading regulators, fintechs, and development partners are launching an ambitious initiative to design a Fintech License Passporting blueprint for Africa’s digital payments ecosystem. The goal is to reduce regulatory fragmentation, lower the cost of cross-border payments, and lay the foundations for an African Single Payments Area that is transparent, safe, and inclusive for consumers and businesses.

AFN is inviting development partners, African unicorns and fintechs, regional institutions, and philanthropic funders to join this effort as financial and technical partners in the first “blueprint phase”, running through to the publication of a White Paper in 2027 and the preparation of pilot arrangements.

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Africa’s digital payments industry is growing fast, but most providers still face a patchwork of licensing regimes, overlapping approvals, and inconsistent regulatory expectations every time they cross a border. This fragmentation increases costs, slows innovation, and ultimately limits access to affordable financial services for ordinary Africans – especially women, MSMEs, migrants, and rural communities.

Africa Fintech Network, working with a high-level Working Group of regulators, regional bodies and market actors, is now leading a continent-wide initiative to design a Fintech License Passporting framework for digital payments. This blueprint will serve as a regulatory building block for an African Single Payments Area that is aligned with global standards on payment transparency and anti–money laundering, while making it easier for responsible providers to serve customers across borders.

Over the next two to three years, the programme will deliver a baseline market study, multi-country regulatory mapping, comparative analysis of international passporting models, a consultation paper, and a landmark White Paper, together with a transition strategy toward pilot implementation with willing countries and regional blocs.

AFN is now inviting partners and funders to join this effort:

• African and global philanthropic organizations that back financial inclusion and digital public infrastructure.
• African unicorns and leading payment companies that want to shape the future regulatory environment for cross-border payments.
• Regional and continental institutions committed to the African Continental Free Trade Area and an integrated digital economy.

By supporting this blueprint phase, partners will help create shared regulatory infrastructure that no single institution can build alone – and help unlock the next generation of safe, interoperable, and inclusive cross-border payments in Africa.

For partnership and funding enquiries, please contact:
Patrick Conteh – CEO, Africa Fintech Network / Working Group Secretariat
Email: info@africafintechnetwork.com