Egypt’s CBE eyes activating COMESA’s Regional Payment and Settlement System

Egyptian Central Bank (CBE) is currently studying the activation of COMESA’s Regional Payment and Settlement System (REPSS), a high-profile governmental source told Amwal Al Ghad Monday.

The source stated that CBE is studying the legal procedures and the requirements of the primary operational phases of REPSS to be activated between agreement’s members, represented in 19 states.

The source clarified that REPSS, whose main participants are Central Banks, allows Member States to transfer funds within COMESA on the same day and at a lower cost.

The initial cost is set to be 0.25% of transaction’s value divided into 0.2% for Clearing House and 0.05% for Central Bank.

REPSS benefits exporters and importers in the region by allowing for a faster, safe and secure transfer of funds and eliminates the need for confirmed Letters of Credit and associated costs, with Central Banks guaranteeing payment through prefunding of commercial banks accounts held with the concerned Central Bank.

The system also paves the way for trading on open account, the predominant method of payment within the EU and other parts of the world.

Moreover, REPSS, which received funding from the European Union under its Contribution Agreement with COMESA, is run by the COMESA Clearing House (CCH) headquartered in Harare, Zimbabwe and hosted at the premises of the Bank of Mauritius