At the 24th COMESA Summit of Heads of State and Government held yesterday, 09th Oct 2025, Member States marked a pivotal moment in regional financial integration: the Digital Retail Payments Platform (DRPP) has successfully demonstrated interoperability between Zambia and Malawi.
Under the supervision of both Member States' Central Banks, digital financial service providers (DFSPs) in the Malawi-Zambia corridor are now technically connected - enabling instant, low-cost transactions in local currencies without relying on scarce #foreignexchange.
Testing is currently underway ahead of commercial launch in 2026.
Why does this matter for COMESA? For the first time, a trader in Lilongwe can pay a supplier in Lusaka instantly using their preferred #digitalpayment method - whether mobile wallet, bank transfer, or fintech solution - no currency conversion, no delays, no prohibitive costs. This infrastructure removes the barriers that have long excluded #MSMEs, women, and youth entrepreneurs from participating fully in #regionaltrade.
As COMESA Secretary General, H.E. Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, stated at the Summit:
"The DRPP offers our people something profound. It offers speed, affordability, and trust. Above all, it offers dignity - dignity for the #womantrader who can now travel safely without cash, dignity for the young entrepreneur whose innovation can now cross borders, dignity for the millions of ordinary citizens who will, for the first time, be part of a safe, affordable, and inclusive #crossborder financial ecosystem."
This milestone reflects extraordinary collaboration. Our gratitude to the Gates Foundation, our development partner; Mojaloop Foundation, our technical partner; INFITX, our implementing partner; and iZyane InovSolutions & Payments and #iMoSyS, our system integrators in Zambia and Malawi, who've turned this vision into infrastructure.
To the COMESA Committee of Central Banks Governors, your leadership remains the cornerstone of this progress.
The way forward? More pilot countries onboarded in a phased approach. Expanded #interoperability. A COMESA financial ecosystem where no merchant or citizen is left behind.
#COMESASummit2025 #DigitalPayments #FinancialInclusion #RegionalIntegration #InclusivePaymentSystems #IIPS #CrossBorderPayments #COMESASummit
COMESA Secretariat Bank of Zambia The Reserve Bank of Malawi Telekom Networks Malawi PLC Zamtel Money FINCA Malawi Jedidah Ndebele Dr Jonathan Pinifolo, CDFP Hopewell Musundire Miriam Tembo Kamuhuza Otis Chirwa -MSc, BA, ACI Ops, Adv. DipMA, CAPM, DASM..Malumbo Bowa Michel Hebert Chris Sukasuka Charles Bello Bsc MBA ACIB FCBI CFIP CBOP CBMBA, CFS, CAIB