Cross-border payments at speed of a local EFT

More than 30 financial institutions from countries in the Common Monetary Area, including South Africa and its neighbours Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia, are getting ready to onboard BankservAfrica's immediate cross-border payment system, says Ruhling Herbst, strategy and transformation officer.

- Liesl Peyper

BankservAfrica is an automated clearing house on the continent, and has been developing the so-called Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) payment scheme to simplify cross-border digital peer-to-peer payments.

Speaking at a media event in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Herbst explained how the uptake of TCIB was progressing in the Common Monetary Area.

As of end-September, TCIB has officially started processing low value payments among individuals living in South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia.

‘Like handing over a banknote’