Nigerian businesses get more room for international spending

I see this as a positive development for Nigerian businesses buying internationally. Better access to foreign currency can make planning and paying for international orders easier.

Socrates Dias CA(Nam) on Bringing Faster, More Efficient China Payments to Namibia Consider a Namibian importer paying a supplier in Guangzhou. The buyer is Namibian. The seller is Chinese. The goods will move directly between the two countries. But the money takes a longer route. It is converted into United States dollars, passed through two or three correspondent banks in third countries, converted again on arrival, and finally lands in the supplier’s account several days later, lighter by a fee at every stop. Nothing about that transaction requires a dollar. It happens that way because, until recently, that was the only road available. I spent most of my career on the paying side of that road. Ten years at PwC Namibia, latterly as a Senior Audit Manager, reviewing the financial statements of Namibian companies. Then two years as Executive: Finance and Administration at Namibia Airports Company, responsible for procurement, project financing and the working capital that had to stretch across the gap between a payment leaving and a payment landing. The same friction turned up in both roles wearing different clothes. In audit it was a line of bank charges that nobody could fully explain and nobody had thought to challenge. In an operating business it was a supplier who had not been paid on a date I had authorised, and a fortnight of not being able to say precisely where the money was. I joined Standard Bank Namibia in 2023 as Head of Internal Audit, and moved from examining the symptoms to working on the plumbing. What follows is not an abstract argument for me. That is the gap Namibian business has been living with. The direction of our trade has shifted decisively over the past decade. The financial infrastructure carrying it has been slower to follow. The numbers make the point plainly. Close to a fifth of all cross-border payments processed through Standard Bank Namibia already flow between Namibia and China. Across the ten African markets surveyed in the latest Standard Bank Africa Trade Barometer, 67% of businesses now name China as their leading source of inputs, and the share naming Asian countries as their preferred trading partners has risen from 24% to 35% in the space of a year. Yet only about a third of our China-bound payments settle directly in Renminbi. The remaining two thirds still travel by way of the dollar, absorbing conversion costs and settlement delays that the underlying trade never asked for. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dtG6iRqR

Nigeria-UK trade is growing. But moving money between the two markets still comes with unnecessary friction. Delays. FX exposure. Cash flow challenges. We’re proud to be part of the conversation around making cross-border payments simpler, faster and more efficient. Read the full piece in Nairametrics: https://lnkd.in/eJ84YEkd

Reliable Global Payments Strengthen Pakistan’s SMB Competitiveness and Forex Inflows Independent report ISLAMABAD, August 28, 2026: Pakistan’s Information and Communication Technology sector maintained strong growth momentum during fiscal year 2025–26, with export remittances increasing 19.7 percent year-on-year and generating a $2.91 billion trade surplus, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey. As Pakistani technology companies, digital agencies, e-commerce sellers and software exporters expand into international markets, reliable cross-border payment infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for managing currencies, controlling costs and supporting business growth....

Stabilizing the exchange rate forms part of the central bank’s broader price-stability mandate because the Philippines is a net importing country. A weaker peso can raise import costs and feed inflation. The future level is hard to estimate and depends on many variables, including how the BSP smooths market volatility. Smoothing volatility is one thing, and declaring a rate inviolable invites markets to test it. Pointed to reforms that improve governance and investor confidence, expand the country’s export products and destinations, encourage practical import substitution, and reduce reliance on foreign-currency debt. Stressed the need to accelerate renewable energy — from solar and wind to geothermal and hydro — to structurally reduce dependence on imported oil and fuel. https://lnkd.in/gJdSdv_P

Promoter summaries frequently sell headline investment numbers while omitting critical regulatory friction. The OECD has explicitly highlighted transparency and fiscal-risk profiles in residence and citizenship-by-investment schemes. Accepting a new residency or nationality without auditing local commercial and tax codes creates immediate exposure: unexpected worldwide reporting, withholding tax obligations, or entity banking blocks. For example, verifying investor pathways through official portals like Turkey's Your Key Turkey platform confirms statutory eligibility, but your corporate banking and founder work permissions must still be cross-checked against central bank and commerce ministry rules. A robust international mobility strategy treats tax and regulatory consequences as conditional scenarios modeled with counsel, not passive assumptions. Audit the statutory legal texts before wiring capital. https://lnkd.in/eVP2fn9w #InternationalMobility #TaxResidence #CitizenshipPlanning #WealthStructuring #InvestmentMigration

Africa's trade finance gap is usually quoted as a single figure: $74–92bn of unmet demand in 2024, per the African Development Bank. A second number from the same research explains considerably more, and is quoted far less often. Commercial banks now intermediate about 23% of Africa's total trade. Between 2011 and 2019 that averaged around 40%. In developed markets, bank-intermediated finance supports 60–80% of goods trade. Those are two different problems. A gap implies unmet demand meeting insufficient supply — solved by putting more money in. A collapse in intermediation from 40% to 23% is not a quantity problem, and more money will not fix it. https://lnkd.in/dMFDG6b7 #TradeFinance #Africa #DevelopmentFinance

𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. International trade is growing, but cross-border payments can still involve multiple intermediaries, currency conversions, higher costs and longer settlement times. That is why BRICS countries are currently discussing more efficient ways to connect payment systems and facilitate cross-border transactions. One area getting attention is 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. India's UPI, for example, has become one of the world's largest real-time payment systems. BRICS discussions are exploring how faster payment systems and potentially digital currencies could work more effectively across borders. The finance ministers and central bank governors have also called for practical solutions that make cross-border payments: • Faster • Lower cost • More accessible • Transparent • Secure There is also increasing discussion around using 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, rather than relying on a single currency for every international transaction. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀? For an Indian business dealing with overseas suppliers, customers or investors, payment infrastructure directly affects: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀: Lower friction can make international payments more efficient. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲: More options for settlement can change how businesses manage foreign exchange risk. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄: Faster settlement can improve working capital management. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Simpler payment mechanisms can make cross-border business easier for SMEs as well. The bigger takeaway is not about replacing one currency with another. It is about building 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. As cross-border commerce grows, businesses will need to understand not just taxation and compliance, but also foreign exchange, payment systems, international reporting and financial risk. The way businesses move money internationally is changing. Are your finance systems ready for it? At V D JAIN & CO., we assist businesses with audit, accounting, taxation and compliance requirements, helping ensure your financial records are properly prepared and review-ready. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁: +91 7428757831 | connect.vdjc@gmail.com #BRICS #CrossBorderPayments #InternationalBusiness #UPI #GlobalFinance

📰 Here are the latest updates you might have missed! DBS Bank and Citi enable instant 24/7 cross-border USD payments with tokenised deposits 🔸 DBS and Citi completed the first successful USD cross-border payment between Singapore and the US over a weekend on 5 September 2026 using tokenised deposits via the Swift Digital Ledger. The transaction took minutes, significantly reducing the typical two business days required for cross-border payments and eliminating delays caused by time zones and weekends. South Korea’s National Pension Service suspends foreign exchange hedging amid won strength 🔸 South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) has suspended its foreign exchange hedging operations as the won strengthened to a near two-year high. The NPS had been conducting flexible currency hedging in 2026 with an increased hedging limit to help curb won weakness. The pension fund’s hedging activities effectively increase dollar supply in the onshore currency market. Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs on US goods following trade talks breakdown 🔸 Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of US products worth CA$27.6 billion took effect on Tuesday, with rates ranging from 15% to 50%, including on dairy, agricultural equipment, paper, household appliances, and electronics. Tariffs on US steel, aluminum, and iron products doubled to 50%, while furniture, motorbikes, clothing, and some beauty products faced the highest rates. The Canadian government described the move as a “dollar for dollar” response to US Section 338 tariffs targeting Canadian goods. Circle to acquire Tazapay to expand global stablecoin payments infrastructure 🔸 Circle Internet Group announced a definitive agreement to acquire Tazapay, a Singapore-based B2B cross-border payments infrastructure company serving payment service providers and financial institutions. The deal is expected to close in 2027, pending regulatory approvals including from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 🔎 Want to stay informed about the latest developments in trade, treasury and payments? Visit our website for more news, insights and industry updates. #crossborderpayments #tokeniseddeposits #digitalpayments #stablecoinpayments #foreignexchange