Swift Connect Africa

Your opportunity to network and register

A formal opening, this session highlights Cape Town’s position as a premier global hub for financial integration. It sets a tone of confidence, celebrating the region’s regulatory milestones and its role in hosting the first post-G20 presidency dialogue on African financial sovereignty.

Join us as we explore how South Africa’s G20 presidency has played a pivotal role in shaping the future of cross-border payments. This session will delve into the initiatives aimed at improving global financial connectivity, enhancing the efficiency of payment systems, and overcoming the challenges of existing infrastructure. Learn how these efforts are paving the way for more inclusive and seamless cross-border transactions, driving progress towards greater economic integration across Africa and beyond.

Scheme participating banks to discuss: as payments increasingly flow across multiple domestic, regional, and cross‑border rails, scheme‑based approaches play a critical role in reducing fragmentation by applying common rules, standards, and participation frameworks across otherwise disconnected systems. This session highlights why strong African bank participation and voice are essential to the success of global payment initiatives—ensuring interoperability solutions reflect real market realities and scale effectively across diverse African corridors.

Your opportunity to meet the Swift experts and connect with your peers.

This session explores the shifting dynamics in Africa’s remittance market, examining whether traditional players (banks, money transfer operators) and emerging fintechs (digital wallets, mobile money) will continue to compete or collaborate. Key topics include cross-border collaborations, the role of mobile wallets in financial inclusion, the impact of regulatory frameworks, and the role of innovations like blockchain in reshaping the remittance landscape. The session aims to uncover how strategic collaboration could create a more efficient and inclusive remittance ecosystem across Africa.

Networking lunch

Introduction to the afternoon and a quick energy boost.

In an era of "fragmented globalisation," this session examines the shifting landscape of global trade and Africa's evolving role within it. We explore how changing geopolitical dynamics and the rise of new international coalitions are influencing the development of innovative cross-border payment systems, challenging traditional financial frameworks and shaping the future of global commerce

Three + 1 French concurrent sessions by Swift experts. Participants can choose which session they attend. 

Your opportunity to meet the Swift experts and connect with your peers.

This session will delve into the evolving landscape of PMIs across Africa, specifically focusing on the complex relationship between multi-currency vs single-currency frameworks and FX management policies. As global trade dynamics shift, Africa's markets are increasingly confronted with the challenge of adapting their currency systems to ensure financial stability and facilitate growth and lessons learned.

A high-level summary of the day’s outcomes, focusing on the immediate action points for CFOs and Treasury heads to implement by the end of the fiscal year and invitation to evening gala dinner.

Your opportunity to meet the Swift experts and connect with your peers.

Welcome and introduction to the day

As Africa expands domestic real-time payment systems, the next priority is connecting these systems into seamless, interoperable networks that facilitate instant cross-border payment. This panel will explore how to enable instant cross-border payment solutions addressing interoperability, real-time FX and liquidity management, regulatory alignment, and risk frameworks.

Across Africa, API ambitions often outpace reality, with fragmented systems and uneven readiness limiting scale. This panel explores how fintechs and technology enablers are pragmatically bridging these gaps; abstracting legacy complexity, accelerating integration, and enabling progress despite imperfect infrastructure.

Your opportunity to meet the Swift experts and connect with your peers.

FX scarcity, trapped liquidity, and correspondent de-risking are creating hidden bottlenecks for Africa’s cross-border trade. This panel will explore how banks, regulators, and infrastructure providers can unlock liquidity, optimise FX management, and enable efficient, resilient regional payment flows.

Lunch break and networking

An introduction to the afternoon and a quick energy boost.

As African countries build stronger domestic payment systems and local data rules, this panel examines how they can protect national sovereignty while still enabling seamless cross‑border trade. The discussion focuses on finding the right balance between national control, pan‑African integration, and connectivity with global networks and what this means for the future design of Africa’s payments ecosystem.

Three concurrent sessions by Swift experts. Participants can choose which session they attend. 

Your opportunity to meet the Swift experts and connect with your peers.

This session moves beyond the 'Crypto' hype to explore the evolving role of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in the African banking sector by 2026. We discuss how some leading African banks are experimenting with DLT to enhance cross-border payments, improve financial inclusion, and explore the potential of tokenizing real-world assets. While the creation of 'Institutional Stablecoins' for high-value settlement between central banks and commercial entities is still in its early stages, these innovations are laying the groundwork for a more efficient and transparent financial ecosystem in Africa.

A call to action for all stakeholders to commit to the "Cape Town Accord"—a set of voluntary principles to ensure that the innovations discussed over the two days lead to measurable increases in intra-African trade and financial stability.