Q1: What is the COMESA Digital Retail Payment Platform?
The COMESA Digital Retail Payment Platform (DRPP) is a regional payment infrastructure developed to enable low-cost, secure and real-time digital transactions across borders within the COMESA region. By supporting instant settlement in local currencies, the DRPP eliminates the traditional barriers of high transaction costs, foreign exchange constraints, and payment delays.
The platform empowers micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to participate more fully in the regional economy. For financial service providers, including banks and non-banks, such as mobile money operators and FinTechs, the DRPP opens access to new markets and customer segments, driving greater inclusion, efficiency and growth within COMESA’s emerging digital economy.
Q2: What was announced about the DRPP at the COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit on 9th Oct 2025 in Nairobi?
The Summit announced the progression of the COMESA Digital Retail Payment Platform (DRPP) to its next phase. Specifically, one corridor (Malawi and Zambia) initially supported by two Digital Financial Service Providers (DFSPs) and one Foreign Exchange Provider (FXP) are moving from integration testing into friendly user trials. This is not a commercial launch, but a milestone in validating the platform’s capabilities with real users in a controlled environment. The announcement aims to generate interest and invite further collaboration, while maintaining a prudent, phased approach.
Q3: Is the DRPP now live for all users and markets, and what is the timeline for its full commercial launch?
No, the DRPP is not yet commercially available. The programme is currently in the friendly user trial phase, where selected partners are testing the platform with real transactions to ensure robust compliance, security, and user experience. Following this, the timeline for the full commercial launch depends on the outcomes of these trials and subsequent closed user group testing. This phased, risk-conscious approach is designed to validate the system thoroughly before scaling. Commercial availability is anticipated in 2026, subject to successful testing and further stakeholder engagement. Updates will be shared as the programme advances through each stage.
Q4: What is the significance of Friendly User Trials (FUT)?
Friendly user trials allow the DRPP team and early adopters to validate the platform’s performance, compliance and security in real-world scenarios. These trials help identify and resolve any issues, gather feedback and ensure the solution meets the needs of DFSPs, FXPs, and end users. It’s a critical step in building confidence and readiness for broader.
Q5. What benefits will the DRPP bring to COMESA Member States and their citizens?
The DRPP is designed to deliver instant, secure and affordable cross-border payments with settlement in local currency. It aims to reduce transaction costs (targeting less than 3% as per the World Bank target), foster financial inclusion and empower MSMEs and citizens to participate in formal trade.
By keeping fee revenues within the region and supporting local banks, the DRPP strengthens fiscal resilience, expands the tax base, and creates new opportunities for job creation and youth empowerment.
Q6: What is the current scope of DRPP’s functionality?
At this stage, the DRPP supports peer-to-peer (P2P) payments between participating DFSPs and FXPs. Peer-to-business (P2B) payments and broader functionalities will be introduced in future phases. The platform is built for scalability and interoperability, with a phased rollout to ensure each feature is thoroughly validated before expansion.
Q7: How are early adopters selected, and what is their role?
Early adopters are selected based on readiness and strategic alignment with the DRPP’s objectives as well as Central Bank recommendations and potential market impact/reach. Their role is to sensitise the rollout to jurisdicational nuances by participating in friendly user trials, providing feedback and helping refine the platform’s features and processes. Their engagement is crucial for ensuring the DRPP meets the needs of diverse stakeholders and markets.
Q8: How does the DRPP support financial inclusion and regional integration?
The DRPP is designed to lower barriers to cross-border payments, making them accessible and affordable for MSMEs, women, youth, and informal traders. By digitizing and formalizing transactions, it expands access to financial services, supports economic growth, and strengthens COMESA’s position as a unified, competitive bloc.
Q9: Who are the key partners and stakeholders in the DRPP programme?
The DRPP is a collaborative COMESA initiative being implemented by the COMESA Clearing House, with support from Central Banks Governors, technical implementation partners and early adopter DFSPs and FXPs. The programme is open to banks, mobile wallets and fintechs, fostering innovation and competition across the region.
Q10: How does the DRPP differ from existing payment systems like REPSS?
While REPSS serves cross-border payments via Central Banks, the DRPP is focused on transactions at the micro level - everyday payments by citizens and MSMEs. The DRPP offers a bottom-up approach, providing access to citizens where they need it with instant, inclusive payments with local currency settlement, open access for banks, wallets, and FinTechs and no onboarding or membership barriers. Together, REPSS and DRPP form a complete digital payment ecosystem for COMESA.
