Africa Advised to Ditch US Dollar to Reduce Cross-Border Trade Costs

 

By: Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus

 

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Africa, a Standard Bank Group analyst highlighted that intra-African trade could see significant improvements if African nations eliminate the US dollar from their cross-border transactions.

Tunde Macaulay, head of business and commercial banking for Africa and offshore regions at Africa’s largest bank, suggested that moving away from the dollar in trade settlements could save the continent up to US$5 billion in processing costs.

A report from the Africa Export-Import Bank in 2022 revealed that more than 80% of cross-border payments from African banks are still cleared offshore, often through Europe or the United States.