A Polymarq Product  ·  Built on PAPSS

Direct payments for Africa
without the hops.

Apara (Africa Payment Rail Access) simplifies continental interoperability by acting as the shared coordination layer that routes instructions over PAPSS, ensuring a single, seamless entry point for financial institutions. Same-day settlement. Lower costs. Built on PAPSS continental payment infrastructure with ISO 20022 compliance.

Learn More The Problem
$282B China-Africa Trade Volume $96.4B African Remittances Per Year UK-Nigeria $5.4B Corridor US-Africa $8B+ Global Community Flows 5–7% Current Cross-Border Payment Costs 72+ Hour Settlement Times Multiple Correspondent Banking Hops Same-Day Settlement Possible Direct Bank-to-Bank Routes ISO 20022 Compatible $282B China-Africa Trade Volume $96.4B African Remittances Per Year UK-Nigeria $5.4B Corridor US-Africa $8B+ Global Community Flows 5–7% Current Cross-Border Payment Costs 72+ Hour Settlement Times Multiple Correspondent Banking Hops Same-Day Settlement Possible Direct Bank-to-Bank Routes ISO 20022 Compatible
$282B
China–Africa trade volume annually
$96.4B
African remittances flowing through costly correspondent chains
5–7%
Current cost of cross-border payments in Africa
72h
Typical settlement time for cross-border transactions
$8B+
US–Africa payment flows annually
The Problem

Your clients are paying
for a chain you
didn't build.

Every cross-border payment from New York to Lagos, Accra to Nairobi, or Lagos to Shanghai routes through multiple correspondent banks before it arrives. Each correspondent bank adds margin. By the time it settles, your client has paid 5–7% and waited 72 hours — for a transaction that should clear the same day.

Apara eliminates the hops.

01 No direct cross-border paths — trade finance instructions require multiple intermediary steps, with each step adding 1-2% in processing costs and delays.
02 No direct international settlement paths — international payments require multiple validation points, increasing costs and settlement times significantly.
03 Fintechs and MFIs locked out — without direct access to continental payment infrastructure, volume remains in costly informal channels.
04 Infrastructure complexity too high — ISO 20022 compliance, liquidity management, and regulatory requirements create barriers for individual institutions.
The Solution

Direct settlement.
No hops.
Same day.

Apara simplifies continental interoperability by acting as the shared coordination layer that routes instructions over PAPSS. Instead of multiple hops through different systems, payments flow directly from sender to recipient through a single, seamless entry point.

Built on PAPSS continental payment infrastructure with ISO 20022 compliance, Apara serves banks, SACCOs, MFIs, and NGOs — creating the missing coordination layer that enables same-day, low-cost cross-border payments across Africa and international corridors.

Sender Bank
1.5%
→
Recipient Bank
1.5-2% Total
Same-day settlement
How It Works

Apara handles
everything
between financial institutions.

01
Instruction Received
The fintech, MFI, SACCO, or bank embeds the solution into their interface, allowing their client to submit a cross-border payment instruction within the same familiar environment.
02
Apara Orchestrates
Apara validates, runs AML, formats to ISO 20022, and routes via the optimal rail. Liquidity pool management, FX, correspondent logic — all handled. Zero build on your side.
03
Settlement + Confirmation
You execute a standard PAPSS instruction exactly as today. Recipient receives local currency, same day. Apara confirms settlement via webhook. Automatic reconciliation.
Get in Touch

Building the future
of African payments
infrastructure.

Interested in learning more about Apara? We're working with forward-thinking institutions to eliminate correspondent banking inefficiencies.

Contact Us