Ecobank strengthens China-Africa payments as banks pursue new digital channels

Ecobank agreed to expand renminbi payment links between China and Africa, while Standard Bank agreed to invest up to $200 million in OPay as the fintech sought a US listing. Airtel Money’s London IPO valued the business at approximately $7 billion.

Elsewhere, Zambia secured staff-level agreement on a proposed $1.47 billion IMF programme. The South African Reserve Bank announced the suspension of weekly repo auctions, while Uganda called an emergency policy meeting after sharp shilling depreciation.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. Ecobank signs CIPS agreement to strengthen China–Africa renminbi payments

Ecobank Group announced on 12 October that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) to strengthen renminbi payment and clearing connectivity between China and Africa. The agreement supports Ecobank’s network across 34 African markets and was accompanied by the inauguration of new office premises in Beijing. Ecobank cited China–Africa bilateral trade of approximately $348 billion in 2025, highlighting the commercial scale of the corridor targeted by the partnership.

Ecobank has maintained a presence in China since 2012 and operates Chinese desks across West, Central and East Africa, providing trade finance, payments and cash-management services. CIPS connectivity therefore builds on an established banking franchise, adding renminbi payment channels to services already offered to importers and exporters. The agreement is intended to reduce settlement complexity, although an operational launch date has not been announced.

2. Standard Bank agrees OPay investment as Nigerian fintech seeks US listing

Standard Bank Group announced on 9 October that it had signed a subscription agreement to invest in OPay, which filed for an initial public offering and applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange the same day. OPay’s prospectus disclosed a proposed investment through Stanbic Africa Holdings of up to $200 million, subject to a 4.99% ownership cap and a regulatory-capital limit. Completion remains conditional on the offering and applicable approvals.

The investment offers access to a consumer and merchant platform increasingly driven by lending. OPay’s loan-financing revenue reached $236.1 million, or 50.6% of total revenue, in the first half of 2026. Expected-credit-loss expense rose to $118.4 million from $38.1 million, which OPay attributed mainly to increased loan originations. Standard Bank’s exposure therefore extends beyond payment distribution to a growing credit business. The companies also intend to explore merchant acquiring, payments, lending, remittances and distribution of Standard Bank products through OPay, subject to separate agreements and approvals.

3. Zambia reaches staff-level agreement on proposed $1.47 billion IMF programme

The International Monetary Fund announced on 9 October that its staff had reached an agreement with Zambian authorities on a proposed 36-month Extended Credit Facility worth $1.472 billion. The programme would support macroeconomic stability, debt sustainability and the rebuilding of fiscal and external buffers. The IMF projected economic growth of 5.6% in 2026, while inflation declined to 6.1% in September and gross international reserves reached $6.1 billion. The arrangement remains subject to IMF Executive Board approval and agreed prior actions.

Improved inflation and reserves coexist with renewed fiscal pressure. The IMF identified weaker-than-expected value-added tax collections, lower fuel taxes and excess Food Reserve Agency spending as reasons for the deterioration. Proposed measures include reversing temporary fuel-tax relief, reducing non-priority capital spending and avoiding new arrears, alongside a primary-surplus target of 3% of GDP by 2029.

4. South African Reserve Bank suspends weekly repo auctions from 30 October

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced on 12 October that it would indefinitely suspend weekly main repurchase auctions from 30 October 2026 under its surplus-liquidity monetary policy implementation framework. Demand for routine repo funding had remained negligible. SARB said maintaining scheduled auctions could weaken incentives for banks to redistribute liquidity through the interbank market, although this risk had not materialised. Repo operations remain available at its discretion, including during market stress.

SARB moved to a surplus-liquidity framework in June 2022. Banks earn the policy rate on overnight deposits within assigned quotas, while excess balances earn a lower rate, encouraging interbank lending. With auction demand already negligible, the suspension reinforces interbank redistribution without changing the policy rate.

5. Airtel Money begins conditional London trading at $7 billion valuation

Airtel Money announced final offer details on 9 October, with conditional trading beginning that day on the London Stock Exchange. The offer valued the business at approximately $7 billion and comprised 270 million existing shares sold by minority shareholders. The International Finance Corporation received an allocation of approximately 34.3 million shares, fulfilling its cornerstone investment commitment of approximately $90 million. Formal admission and unconditional trading begins on 14 October.

The offering provides liquidity to selling shareholders rather than fresh capital for Airtel Money. Airtel Africa intends to remain a long-term strategic shareholder, preserving the relationship between the financial-services business and its telecoms distribution network. The flotation also establishes a separately traded valuation for the mobile-money business.

6. Uganda calls emergency policy meeting amid shilling pressure

The Bank of Uganda announced on 13 October that it would hold an emergency Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 14 October, Reuters reported. The shilling had recorded repeated lows against the dollar during October and was down more than 11% since the start of the year. The central bank said it did not target a particular exchange-rate level but had tools to manage excessive volatility.

Currency pressure comes alongside rising domestic inflation. Uganda Bureau of Statistics data showed annual headline inflation increasing to 4.6% in September from 4.1% in August. Further depreciation can add to local-currency import costs, placing exchange-rate developments alongside domestic price pressures in the policy assessment. Depreciation also increases the local-currency cost of servicing foreign-currency debt for borrowers without matching foreign-currency revenues, creating a potential credit-risk channel for banks.

7. AFG Bank Guinée secures Proparco loan and trade-finance guarantees

Proparco announced on 13 October a EUR 60 million ($67.1 million) package for AFG Bank Guinée, comprising a EUR 35 million ($39.2 million) senior loan for small and medium-sized enterprises and a EUR 25 million ($28.0 million) trade-finance guarantee facility. The financing supports plans to double the bank’s SME loan portfolio from EUR 60 million ($67.1 million) to EUR 120 million ($134.3 million) by 2027 and triple its SME customer base. Formerly Société Générale Guinée, the bank was acquired by AFG Holding in August 2025.

Guinea’s third-largest bank by assets has traditionally served large corporates and is now expanding its SME franchise as the Simandou mining project creates demand among local suppliers. The loan supports this lending shift, while guarantees cover international trade instruments and strengthen correspondent-banking capacity. The combined package addresses domestic credit and trade access, although only the loan represents funded financing.

8. AfDB expands trade-finance guarantees through Mashreq partnership

The African Development Bank announced on 13 October that it had signed a confirming-bank agreement with Mashreq under its Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Instrument. The arrangement enables transaction-by-transaction guarantees covering up to 100% of the non-payment risk assumed by Mashreq on eligible transactions originated by approved African issuing banks. The bank’s 2025 Trade Finance Report estimated unmet African trade-finance demand at between $74 billion and $92 billion in 2024, with SMEs particularly affected.

The agreement addresses international confirming banks’ willingness to accept payment risk from African issuing banks. AfDB’s guarantees can support Mashreq’s confirmation of eligible transactions where direct counterparty limits constrain capacity. This is an unfunded risk-sharing instrument, rather than a disclosed pool of new lending. No aggregate guarantee amount or realised transaction volume was announced, so the agreement establishes a financing channel without yet quantifying additional trade supported.

9. BCEAO advances public-treasury use of regional instant payments

The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) announced on 8 October that public treasuries were being connected to its Interoperable Instant Payment System (PI-SPI) across the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Côte d’Ivoire’s treasury has met the platform’s requirements and regularly processes bulk payments through it. The system supports government payments and collections, including salaries, scholarships, subsidies and taxes, while BCEAO is assisting other member-state treasuries with progressive integration.

Treasury participation extends PI-SPI beyond transfers between individuals into recurring government disbursements and collections. The infrastructure allows treasuries to send and receive payments irrespective of the beneficiary’s or taxpayer’s account and track them in real time, broadening access across participating providers.

10. Absa index finds stronger African markets but persistent liquidity gaps

Absa Group and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) released the 2026 Africa Financial Markets Index, with OMFIF publishing its overview on 14 October. The index covers 29 economies representing approximately 80% of Africa’s population and GDP. Twenty-one markets improved their scores, and the average reached 56, its highest across the decade. South Africa retained first place, followed by Mauritius and Namibia.

Product diversity improved in 12 countries, with Kenya’s infrastructure-backed security and Egypt’s derivatives and alternative-investment initiatives among the examples. Yet wider product availability has not consistently produced more trading activity, limiting the financing benefits of improved infrastructure. This edition measures countries against fixed good-practice benchmarks rather than one another, with historical scores recalculated for comparison. The distinction between introducing instruments and developing liquid markets remains central to interpreting the higher scores.