Latest Payments News: Launch Of Papsscard Marks A Step Forward For African Financial Sovereignty, and more

Catch up on some of the stories our payments compliance analysts have covered lately, and stay up-to-date on the latest news.

Launch Of Papsscard Marks A Step Forward For African Financial Sovereignty

A joint venture between African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (Papss) and Mercury Payment Services, Papsscard is the first Pan-African card scheme and is intended to boost the continent’s financial autonomy.

Introduced at the end of June 2025, Papsscard is intended to enable fast, secure and affordable cross-border retail payments between African markets.

Historically, cross-border payments within Africa have been routed via the global north, which is slow, expensive and entails a loss of data control.

The new initiative aims to change this by processing transactions within the continent, thereby keeping the value, data and economic benefit in Africa.

Afreximbank president and chairman of the board of directors, Professor Benedict Oramah, said that Papsscard is “a transformative step towards strengthening intra-African trade and preserving value within the continent”.

Papsscard takes its identity from Papss, a cross-border, financial market infrastructure enabling payment transactions across Africa.

It connects commercial banks, payment service providers (PSPs) and other financial intermediaries in a number of African jurisdictions and aims to promote the efficient flow of money securely across borders in the region.

Australia Launches Consultation On A2A Payments

The Australian Payments Network (AusPayNet) and Australian Payments Plus (AP+) have taken the first steps in bringing the payments industry together to determine the future of account-to-account (A2A) payments in the country.

AP+ is an industry body formed from the merger of BPAY, eftpos and NPP Australia. Its shareholders are major banks, fintechs and large retailers, and it aims to drive innovation and create opportunities in the payments sector.

AusPayNet is the self-regulatory body set up by the Australian payments industry to improve the safety, reliability, equity, convenience and efficiency of the country’s payments systems.

As covered by Vixio, in May 2025, the two organisations were directed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to coordinate industry efforts on the future of Australia’s A2A payments system.

The consultation is the first step in this process and seeks input from stakeholders on a series of key issues, including the objectives that should guide the development of an industry vision for A2A payments, their experience of the existing A2A arrangements and their expectations of a future A2A payments system.

“This consultation is an important step forward in designing a modern account-to-account payments ecosystem that meets the needs of its users well into the future,” said AusPayNet CEO Andy White.

“It is timely to gather feedback from the widest possible range of stakeholders and users to ensure that account-to-account payments continue to contribute to the vibrancy, productivity and resilience of Australia’s digital economy.”

AP+ CEO Lynn Kraus echoed these sentiments, adding that, “The insights and feedback we gather will inform the industry’s strategic approach to account-to-account payments and ensure we’re addressing the priorities and needs of all stakeholders.”

New MiCA-Aligned Crypto Regulations Bring Legal Clarity To Norway’s Crypto Sector

New crypto regulations have come into force in Norway, bringing it into line with the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.

The regulations, which supplement Norway’s Crypto Assets Act, adopt a number of European Commission regulations and amend the country’s Financial Institutions Regulations to mandate compliance with the requirements for a white paper, as determined in Article 51 of MiCA.

They also clarify the legal status of e-money tokens, which, as defined in MiCA, are to be considered electronic money pursuant to the Financial Institutions Act, bringing stablecoins within the scope of Norway’s e-money rules.

MiCA governs the activities of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and issuers of crypto-assets, establishing common European rules for the issuance, public offering, and admission to trading of crypto-assets, the provision of services related to crypto-assets and market abuse in the crypto-asset market.

The introduction of MiCA across the EU means the crypto market will be subjected to similar requirements as the traditional market for financial instruments and means of payment.

Despite Norway’s position formally outside the EU, the introduction of the regulations ensures the country remains in step with the EU’s regulatory framework.

It also marks a significant shift in Norwegian crypto regulation, which had previously been limited to light-touch know your customer (KYC) rules and regulations governing the providers of crypto exchange and custody services.

FCA Tells E-Money And Payments Firms To Do Better On Risk Management

A review by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), found that none of the 14 e-money and payments firms included met its standards for risk management frameworks and wind-down plans (WDPs).

In particular, the study found that the firms were not accurately following the guidance in FG20/1 on the role of adequate financial resources in minimising harm, which sets out what WDPs should include.

The regulator warned firms that it expects them to review their arrangements against its findings and make any necessary improvements.

During 2024/2025, the FCA reviewed a sample of 14 firms with a variety of business models.

It focused on enterprise and liquidity risk management and wind-down planning, and asked firms for information, held on-site meetings and, after the review, gave individual feedback.

The three main areas where improvement is required are enterprise-wide risk management frameworks, liquidity risk management and consideration of group risk, the regulator said.

The FCA warned, “For many firms in scope of our review, liquidity risk has the potential to cause material harm if not managed appropriately.”

It said that the firms rarely stress-tested liquidity under adverse conditions, leaning heavily on static cash buffers, and that available liquidity was not correlated with risk triggers required to initiate orderly wind-down procedures.

“Firms have made efforts to make sure WDPs have a structure in-line with our expectations”, the regulator added.

“But the underlying content is often incomplete, high-level and not aligned with the risk management framework, with inadequate triggers and links between financial resources held and resources required for wind-down.”

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