Access Bank, UBA Sign Agreement To Allow Africans Trade Without the Need To Use Dollars
- Access Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have signed an agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
- The agreement is aimed at facilitating the ongoing push to promote seamless trading across Africa
- The significance of the agreement is that it gives Africans an opportunity to exchange goods and services without the need to source dollars first
Access Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have signed an agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) that will help remove trade barriers
The agreement was reached during the annual meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Accra, Ghana.
Source: Getty Images
Insights into the agreements
Afreximbank has been promoting its initiative called Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which helps reduce the complexities of foreign exchange for cross-border transactions between African markets.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
With PAPSS African traders will no longer need to convert local currencies into dollars or other hard currencies to complete a transaction.
Access Bank and UBA joined other leading African group banks in signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) on the use of PAPSS.
More details of UBA, Access bank agreements
According to UBA, the sectors expected to benefit from comprehensive support and trade facilitation include Pharmaceuticals, Automobiles, Transport and logistics, Agriculture and agro-processing, as reported by BusinessDay.
On the other hand, Victor Etuokwu, Deputy Managing Director, Retail North at Access Bank, highlighted that the agreement will enable the establishment of a payment infrastructure to mobilise resources for driving inter-African trade.
He further mentioned that Access Bank has traders, businesses, and SMEs in every country of the continent, engaging in trade with counterparts from other parts of Africa.
Etuokwu explained that the PAPSS will provide platform where payments can be made without the requirement of the US dollar to facilitate transactions.
Naira bounces back as dollar exchanges same rate in official, black FX markets
Meanwhile, in another report, the naira to the dollar exchange rate at the official and black markets met for the first time in eight years and closed at N756.
This followed the recent foreign exchange reforms embarked upon by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Kingsley Obiora, the CBN’s deputy governor, has further explained the ongoing operational reforms in Nigeria's foreign exchange markets.
Source: Legit.ng
