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Policy areas / Cross-border payments and currency
DeepSouth Africa · Angola · sources last checked 26 Oct 2026

Cross-border payments and currency

What stops a firm in one African country paying, being paid, or repatriating earnings in another, and how far have regional payment systems and foreign-exchange rules moved?

An investment across a border has to move money both ways: capital in, earnings and payments out. Each leg runs through national rules.

What the records cannot yet show, including how much trade each blocker holds back, is gathered in one place: evidence limits.

At a glance

The date is the latest milestone each status rests on. "Consulted · Aug 2026" means a consultation was verified then; later adoption was not found.

IdeaLegalRulesDeliveryFunding
Capital Flow Management RegulationsSouth AfricaNot tracked–Consulted · 15 May 2026Not tracked–Not tracked–
SADC-RTGS settlement systemRegionalNot tracked–Not tracked–Operating · Sep 2026Not tracked–
TCIB low-value schemeRegionalNot tracked–Not tracked–Operating · Sep 2026Not tracked–
PAPSS and South AfricaRegionalNot tracked–Not tracked–Partly operating · Jun 2026Not tracked–

Roadmap

HappenedTargetConstraint observed
Before 2025
2025
2026
2027 and later
South Africa
Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations published for comment17 Apr 2026the draft regulations appeared in Government Gazette No. 7375 on 17 April 2026 and would replace the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961; Treasury described a move to a "positive bias" approach, with fewer transactions needing prior approval and more emphasis on reporting and on monitoring high-impact and high-risk transactionsDraft Capital Flow Management Regulations out for public comment (SAnews) · article text · 17 Apr 2026paraphrase, not a quotationSecondary source: the Gazette and Treasury's own statement of 17 April were not read; SAnews is the government's news agencyCapital Flow Management Regulations to replace the 1961 exchange-control regulations
Comment deadline extended to 30 June 202615 May 2026the deadline for public comment was extended from 18 May 2026 to 30 June 2026, "following requests to allow stakeholders additional time to review"; after it, National Treasury and the Reserve Bank will review the comments and revise the draftMedia statement, extension of deadline for public comment on the draft Capital Flow Management Regulations · PDF p.1 of 2 · 15 May 2026not yet checked by a personCapital Flow Management Regulations to replace the 1961 exchange-control regulations
Regional
PAPSS lists South Africa as reachable inbound onlyJun 2026"South Africa*" is listed among countries reachable through the Extended Network (inbound only), with "22 banks reachable"; the asterisk's note reads "Requires additional integration where applicable"PAPSS Payments Network Coverage, June 2026 · PDF p.25 (South Africa, 22 banks reachable); PDF p.4 (the asterisk's note) · Jun 2026not yet checked by a personPan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and South Africa's place in it
Kwanza added to SADC-RTGS as a second settlement currency27 Jul 2026the system "has settled transactions exclusively in South African rand since its inception in 2013"; the governors of the two central banks "today formally announced" the kwanza as a settlement currencyIntroduction of the Angolan kwanza into the SADC-RTGS system (media release) · media release text · 27 Jul 2026not yet checked by a personSADC real-time gross settlement system (SADC-RTGS)
SADC-RTGS settles 163,588 payments in the monthSep 2026"The SADC-RTGS processed 163,588 transactions to the value of ZAR 279.5 Billion"; "Total number of participating countries: 15"; "Total number of participating Banks (including central banks): 88"SADC-RTGS Settlement Statistics and Indicators, September 2026 · PDF p.1 (as the web reader returned it; a reviewer reports p.2, so confirm against the PDF) · Sep 2026not yet checked by a personSADC real-time gross settlement system (SADC-RTGS)
TCIB scheme settles 302 payments in the monthSep 2026"Total volume settled on the TCIB payments scheme was 302 transactions", worth ZAR 306,258,398.29, with 8 TCIB payment scheme participantsSADC-RTGS Settlement Statistics and Indicators, September 2026 · PDF p.1 (as the web reader returned it; a reviewer reports p.2, so confirm against the PDF) · Sep 2026not yet checked by a personTCIB (Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis), SADC's scheme for low-value instant payments

Selected milestones; each idea's page lists every dated item. Hover a source marker for the passage and whether a person has checked it.

Blockers

Each card keeps apart the constraint the sources report, what is expected to relieve it (and who expects it), and how much trade it holds back.

RegulatorySouth Africa

South Africa's exchange-control rules date from 1961; their replacement was published in draft in April 2026, and no final version was found

The constraint

National Treasury published draft Capital Flow Management Regulations in April 2026 to replace the regulations of 1961. Under the October 2026 version of the Reserve Bank's exchange-control manual (the latest read), residents may not transfer capital outside the Common Monetary Area except as its listed subsections allow (individuals up to R10 million a year; banks may approve a company's new foreign direct investment up to R5 billion a year, with no separate limit for Africa in the passage read), while rand investments and transfers within the Common Monetary Area need no approval. Treasury describes its draft as a "positive bias" approach with fewer transactions needing prior approval. The draft keeps a permission rule for the transactions it lists, and treats the currencies of Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini as not foreign. The comment period closed on 30 June 2026; final regulations were not found in the sources read. What the manual requires of companies above R5 billion was not read. Records: Capital Flow Management Regulations

Expected to relieve it

Capital Flow Management Regulations, in the view of National Treasury. the draft regulations appeared in Government Gazette No. 7375 on 17 April 2026 and would replace the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961; Treasury described a move to a "positive bias" approach, with fewer transactions needing prior approval and more emphasis on reporting and on monitoring high-impact and high-risk transactionsDraft Capital Flow Management Regulations out for public comment (SAnews) · article text · 17 Apr 2026paraphrase, not a quotationSecondary source: the Gazette and Treasury's own statement of 17 April were not read; SAnews is the government's news agency

Trade or investment held back

Not established. What the sources leave open

FinancialSADC

The region's settlement system worked in one currency, the rand, from 2013 until July 2026

The constraint

SADC-RTGS settled only in rand from its start in 2013, by the Reserve Bank's account. In July 2026 the Reserve Bank and Banco Nacional de Angola added the kwanza, and the Reserve Bank says direct settlement in a participant's own currency avoids foreign-exchange conversions and lowers costs. It intends to add others, such as the pula, without a date. No source gives the cost of the conversions or how much now settles in kwanza. Records: SADC-RTGS settlement system

Expected to relieve it

SADC-RTGS settlement system, in the view of South African Reserve Bank. the Reserve Bank intends to add other regional currencies, such as the Botswana pula, "in due course"Introduction of the Angolan kwanza into the SADC-RTGS system (media release) · media release textnot yet checked by a person

Trade or investment held back

Not established. What the sources leave open

InstitutionalSouth Africa

South African banks are reachable on the continental system PAPSS only for inbound payments

The constraint

PAPSS's June 2026 coverage document lists live participants in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but lists South Africa only on its inbound-only Extended Network, with 22 banks reachable and a note that additional integration may be required. What inbound-only access allows in practice is not explained in the document. Records: PAPSS and South Africa

Expected to relieve it

No source read says whether, or when, a South African bank or the Reserve Bank will join PAPSS as a participant.

Trade or investment held back

Not established. What the sources leave open

See also: Shared challenge

Who has to act, blocker by blocker

For each blocker: the records that establish it, what is expected to relieve it and in whose view, and every institution those records name, by country. The arrow is a cited expectation; no role or order is drawn unless a record cites it.

South Africa's exchange-control rules date from 1961; their replacement was published in draft in April 2026, and no final version was found

The region's settlement system worked in one currency, the rand, from 2013 until July 2026

South African banks are reachable on the continental system PAPSS only for inbound payments

Ideas and their reach

Counted from the records, not judged. A low count can mean thin coverage rather than a minor idea.

IdeaCross-border linksBlockersInstitutions that act
SADC-RTGS settlement system112 · 2 countries or bodies
PAPSS and South Africa111 · 1 country
Capital Flow Management Regulations012 · 1 country
TCIB low-value scheme001 · 1 country

Institutions named

Institutions the area's records name. 1 cited role on this area's reforms is shown on each reform's page, and under a blocker where that reform is expected to relieve it. The others are named without a role.

Countries covered by Cross-border payments and currencyAngolaBurundiBeninBurkina FasoBotswanaCentral African RepublicCôte d'IvoireCameroonDemocratic Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoComorosCabo VerdeDjiboutiAlgeriaEgyptEritreaEthiopiaGabonGhanaGuineaThe GambiaGuinea-BissauEquatorial GuineaKenyaLiberiaLibyaLesothoMoroccoMadagascarMaliMozambiqueMauritaniaMauritiusMalawiNamibiaNigerNigeriaRwandaSudanSenegalSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth SudanSão Tomé and PríncipeEswatiniSeychellesChadTogoTunisiaTanzaniaUgandaSouth AfricaZambiaZimbabweWestern Sahara

Common challenges and opportunities

Connections between countries, each with the evidence it rests on and what it does not establish.

Shared challenge

Two systems now settle payments between Southern African banks: SADC-RTGS, operated by the South African Reserve Bank, in rand and since July 2026 kwanza; and PAPSS, which lists live participants in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe but reaches South African banks only inbound. The sources read do not say how the two relate, or whether they will be linked.

What the evidence establishes

(1) Each system's coverage is documented (the Reserve Bank's statistics and PAPSS's coverage document). (2) The Reserve Bank expects a second settlement currency to lower costs; no expectation about PAPSS in Southern Africa was read. (3) Whether either reduces the cost or time of a payment between, say, Zambia and South Africa: unresolved.

What this does not establish

Between: SADC-RTGS settlement system, PAPSS and South Africa

The evidence (5 cited passages)
  • the system "has settled transactions exclusively in South African rand since its inception in 2013"; the governors of the two central banks "today formally announced" the kwanza as a settlement currency the system "has settled transactions exclusively in South African rand since its inception in 2013"; the governors of the two central banks "today formally announced" the kwanza as a settlement currencyIntroduction of the Angolan kwanza into the SADC-RTGS system (media release) · media release text · 27 Jul 2026not yet checked by a person
  • the Reserve Bank intends to add other regional currencies, such as the Botswana pula, "in due course" the Reserve Bank intends to add other regional currencies, such as the Botswana pula, "in due course"Introduction of the Angolan kwanza into the SADC-RTGS system (media release) · media release textnot yet checked by a person
  • direct settlement in kwanza lets participants avoid foreign-exchange conversions and so lowers transaction costs, in the release's account direct settlement in kwanza lets participants avoid foreign-exchange conversions and so lowers transaction costs, in the release's accountIntroduction of the Angolan kwanza into the SADC-RTGS system (media release) · media release textparaphrase, not a quotation
  • lists live participants in Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; headline figures of "190+" institutions signed up and "31" African countries reachable lists live participants in Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe; headline figures of "190+" institutions signed up and "31" African countries reachablePAPSS Payments Network Coverage, June 2026 · PDF p.3 (headline figures); live participants from the coverage pages, pp.4-5 and 7-30 · Jun 2026paraphrase, not a quotation
  • "South Africa*" is listed among countries reachable through the Extended Network (inbound only), with "22 banks reachable"; the asterisk's note reads "Requires additional integration where applicable" "South Africa*" is listed among countries reachable through the Extended Network (inbound only), with "22 banks reachable"; the asterisk's note reads "Requires additional integration where applicable"PAPSS Payments Network Coverage, June 2026 · PDF p.25 (South Africa, 22 banks reachable); PDF p.4 (the asterisk's note) · Jun 2026not yet checked by a person

Evidence limits

What the records do not establish, said once here rather than on every claim. Coverage says what was read; the lists say what it leaves open.

Coverage

Four records. One is South Africa's draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, which would replace the 1961 exchange-control regulations. Two are SADC's regional payment systems: SADC-RTGS for high-value payments, operated by the South African Reserve Bank, and the TCIB scheme for low-value instant payments, managed and operated by BankservAfrica under a SADC mandate. One is the continental PAPSS system, from its own coverage document. Sources are the draft regulations, National Treasury's statement, a government news report, the Reserve Bank's Currency and Exchanges Manual (October 2026), its statistics and media release, and PAPSS's coverage document. Only the opening of the manual's rule for companies' foreign investment was read, no other country's foreign-exchange rules are recorded, and no firm's account of a delayed or refused payment was read.

How much trade or investment each blocker holds back

Common challenges

Open questions

  • Whether the Capital Flow Management Regulations have been finalised, and which approvals and allowances the Reserve Bank will set under them for investment elsewhere in Africa.
  • What the manual requires of a company investing more than R5 billion a year abroad, and whether any rule outside the passage read treats investment in Africa differently.
  • How the foreign-exchange rules of South Africa's main African partners (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, Kenya) treat payments to and from South Africa.
  • How much settles in kwanza on SADC-RTGS, and when the pula or other currencies join.
  • Whether South African banks will join PAPSS, and how PAPSS and SADC-RTGS relate.
  • What a payment between a Zambian and a South African firm costs and how long it takes, on each route.