Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are moving back up the policy agenda in Africa, as central banks increasingly refocus their efforts away from retail use cases and towards business payments, cross-border settlement and regional trade infrastructure.
While early CBDC pilots across the continent were often framed around financial inclusion and consumer wallets, policymakers are now acknowledging that the most immediate economic impact lies in wholesale and corporate applications—particularly for companies operating across multiple African markets.
Companies such as Kenya’s M-Pesa, which is widely regarded as a world leader in mobile payments, have transformed African financial services. A significant percentage of Kenya’s GDP already flows through the platform, prompting users, investors and central banks to question why a CBDC would be necessary. However, it is worth noting that Kenya is on the verge of enacting a comprehensive crypto regulation bill, which could reshape the broader digital payments landscape.
Payments friction remains a brake on regional trade
Despite rapid growth in mobile money and domestic instant-payment systems, African businesses continue to face structural challenges when moving money across borders. Cross-border payments remain slow, expensive and heavily reliant on correspondent banking networks outside the continent.
For exporters, manufacturers and SMEs trading regionally, settlement delays can stretch into days, tying up liquidity and increasing foreign-exchange costs. These inefficiencies sit awkwardly alongside the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to deepen intra-African commerce but still depends on outdated payment rails.
CBDCs shift from retail experiment to wholesale tool
As a result, several central banks are now reassessing CBDCs as infrastructure rather than consumer products. Wholesale or business-focused CBDCs allow regulated financial institutions to settle payments in central bank money on a 24/7 basis, with reduced counterparty risk.
For companies, the potential benefits are tangible:
- Faster settlement of cross-border invoices
- Improved cash and liquidity management
- Lower pre-funding and collateral requirements
- Reduced reliance on offshore clearing currencies
In practice, this could shorten treasury cycles and free up working capital—outcomes far more relevant to economic growth than retail CBDC adoption metrics.
Regional coordination gains momentum
Momentum is also building around interoperability and multi-country settlement models. Institutions such as the African Export-Import Bank have publicly backed efforts to modernise payment infrastructure in support of regional trade, while central banks are increasingly participating in cross-border experimentation under frameworks supported by the Bank for International Settlements.
Unlike developed markets constrained by legacy systems, many African central banks are modernising RTGS platforms and instant-payment rails simultaneously, creating an opportunity to integrate CBDCs as a complementary settlement layer rather than a disruptive replacement.
Strategic response to stablecoin growth
The renewed interest in CBDCs is also being shaped by the rapid adoption of foreign-currency stablecoins for trade settlement and treasury operations. While these instruments offer speed and accessibility, they raise longer-term concerns around currency substitution and regulatory oversight.
By providing a credible, locally anchored digital settlement asset, CBDCs offer central banks a way to retain monetary relevance without blocking private-sector innovation. Policymakers increasingly see CBDCs not as competitors to fintech, but as the public infrastructure layer beneath it.
Lessons from early pilots
Retail-focused CBDC pilots in Africa have delivered mixed results, highlighting the challenge of driving consumer adoption where payment options already exist. In contrast, demand for faster and cheaper B2B settlement is well established.
Nigeria is currently the only African country to have launched a CBDC—the eNaira—while Ghana and South Africa remain in pilot phases.
As a result, central banks are now prioritising use cases tied to trade finance, interbank settlement and cross-border payments—areas where measurable efficiency gains can be delivered quickly.
Outlook
Africa’s CBDC narrative is evolving. The focus is shifting decisively from retail experimentation to business enablement and regional integration. If central banks align around interoperable, wholesale-focused CBDC models, the technology could play a meaningful role in lowering trade costs, accelerating payments and supporting the continent’s economic ambitions.
The message from policymakers is becoming clearer: CBDCs matter most not in wallets, but in the engine room of Africa’s real economy.
