Estelle Komlan (CEO of Ecobank Togo): “With CIPS, we want to speed up payments to China and reduce their cost”

Ecobank signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in Beijing on October 10, 2026. Estelle Fafa Akue-Komlan, CEO of Ecobank Togo, says the aim is to simplify payments between Africa and China by enabling businesses to pay Chinese suppliers in renminbi with fewer intermediaries, faster processing and lower costs. She notes that African countries imported more than $225 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2025 and points to China’s tariff exemptions for exports from 53 African countries. Ecobank says internal analyses have identified several potential sources of savings, including lower foreign-exchange costs.