UP, (otherwise known as Unified Payments) Nigeria’s pioneer Payments & Financial Technology company and the Pan-African Payment & Settlement System (PAPSS) are excited to announce their partnership. Under this partnership, UP is appointed as:
1. Processor of PAPSS co-branded cards under the recently launched PAPSSCARD, the first Pan-African card Scheme. This enables banks and deposit-taking institutions to use the services of UP to issue PAPSS co-branded cards and also accept the cards at their outlets including Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and merchant locations.
2. Acquirer of PAPSSCARD for co-branded cards. This enables merchants who are customers of UP to welcome PAPSS co-branded cards as a means of payment for their goods and services.
3. A Switch for instant payments across Africa on the PAPSS network. This enables customers of banks and deposit-taking institutions who are clients of UP to send and receive instant payments across Africa
In demonstration of UP’s cross-enterprise alliances and capabilities, UP will be the first entity in Nigeria to enable merchants to accept co-branded cards under the PAPSSCARDscheme as means of payment for goods and services at merchants’ locations. This is in addition to enabling instant cross border transaction/fund transfers across Africa.
UP will accept PAPSSCARD across its networks under the terms of the partnership agreement.
Dr. Agada Apochi, Managing Director and CEO of UP Group, said that UP is delighted to contribute to the ease of doing business in Nigeria and across Africa through the partnership with PAPSS. This is a testament to the position of UP as a shared industry infrastructure and promoter of cross-enterprise alliances.
Mike Ogbalu, Chief Executive Officer of the Pan-African Payment & Settlement System (PAPSS), expressed his enthusiasm regarding the recently established partnership with UP in Nigeria, an important market for Pan-African payments. He also praised the collaborative efforts and outstanding achievements of the UP team in delivering a successful Proof of Concept exclusively for the Afreximbank Annual Meetings 2025 (AAM2025) in Abuja, Nigeria. This initiative providedselected guests with the opportunity to experience the PAPSSCARD.
About PAPSS
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) is a centralized financial market infrastructure developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to facilitate instant, cross-border payments in local African currencies, thereby simplifying trade and settlement under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
About UP
UP otherwise known as Unified Payments or Unified Payment Services Limited is Nigeria’s pioneer Payments & Financial Technology Company founded in 1997 by a consortium of leading Nigerian banks as a trusted shared industry infrastructure.
UP prides itself as the foremost Financial Technology Service Provider and has contributed significantly to the growth of electronic payments & financial technology in Nigeria. UP’s Contributions and Exceptional Pioneering value-innovations include but not limited to:
a) First EMV Third Party Processor in Nigeria.
b) First Nigerian Principal Member of a global payment scheme and the only Nigerian non-bank Principal Member
c) Pioneered the issuance and acceptance of EMV Chip+PINcards in Nigeria leading to reduction of ATM fraud in Nigeria by over 95%.
d) First Acquirer and Processor to deploy Near-Field-Communication (NFC) technology for remote/distant and proximity/contactless transactions in Nigeria.
e) First Settlement Agent to enable Nigerian merchants for Hourly Settlement Service (UP-HSS).
f) First service provider to enable Payment and Withdrawal on POS, WEB, and ATM with just phone number.
g) Enabled Nigerian banks to issue payment cards to Naira account holders to be used for the first time-ever globally.
h) Enabled Nigerian banks for first-ever acceptance of foreign cards at their ATMs
i) Enabled Nigerian Merchants the use of Nigerian Naira as transaction currency when cards issued under global card schemes are used at merchant locations in Nigeria. Hitherto, the only acceptable transaction currency was United States Dollars.
j) Pioneer in the use of telephone number as digital money account number.
k) Pioneered multibank mobile application and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data).
l) First Acquirer of American Express in Nigeria.
m) First to provide Joint Acquiring services for Nigerian banks.
