COMESA Clearing House engages Malawi High Commission on digital retail payments platform progress
Date: 2026-01-15
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (COMESA) Clearing House has held high-level engagements in
Lusaka, Zambia, as part of ongoing efforts to advance cross-border trade and
regional digital finance within the COMESA region.
During
the visit, the Clearing House met with the Malawi High Commissioner to Zambia,
Her Excellency Ms. Margaret Kamoto, and her team to provide an update on the
progress of the Digital Retail Payments Platform (DRPP), a flagship initiative
aimed at improving cross-border payment systems.
The
discussions focused on COMESA’s interoperability journey, with the Chief
Operating Officer for the DFI Program, Dr. Jonathan Pinifolo, outlining the
active deployment of the DRPP along the Malawi–Zambia trade corridor. He
highlighted how the platform is expected to enable instant, secure, and
affordable cross-border payments in local currencies, directly benefiting
traders operating between the two countries.
The
meeting underscored the shared commitment of stakeholders to building an
inclusive cross-border trade framework that supports women, youth, and
small-scale cross-border traders, who play a critical role in regional
economies.
The
engagement reaffirmed the transition from policy ambition to practical
implementation, as COMESA continues to build a regional payments ecosystem
designed to strengthen intra-COMESA trade and expand financial inclusion across
member states.
