The lack of a payment settlement system between Africa and Barbados and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states could slow the integration officials are seeking to achieve between the two regions.This caution has come from Chief Executive Officer of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) Mike Ogbalu, who said he believed such a system was necessary to make the proposed deepening of investment and trade relations a reality.“When you talk about infrastructure and logistics to support trade, tourism, investments and so on, one key element is payment. Trade doesn’t happen without payment. Tourism, when people move they have to be able to spend. Investment is also the movement of funds. So, clearly, if we do not have payments sorted then the integration we would like to have may not happen,” Ogbalu said during the recent AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, which was held under the theme One People, One Destiny: Uniting and Reimagining our Future.He said the PAPSS, which was officially introduced by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in January this year, could serve as a settlement system between CARICOM and Africa.
