Pan-African banking group Ecobank Group and China’s top B2B cross-border trade payment platform XTransfer have signed a landmark memorandum of understanding to revolutionize cross-border payments between Africa and China, targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engaged in foreign trade. Ecobank announced the deal on February 6, 2025. 

The collaboration comes at a time when trade between China and Africa reached a record $282 billion in 2023, with $18.75 billion attributed to flows between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This positions the DRC as China’s fourth-largest trading partner in Africa, making it a key market for Ecobank, which has a strong local presence.

Through the memorandum, Ecobank and Xtransfer aim to tackle the persistent challenges of international transactions, such as high costs, currency exchange risks, lengthy remittance times, and regulatory hurdles.

In the DRC, banks currently charge transfer fees ranging from 0.75% to 1% of the amount transferred, with a minimum of 45 to 50 USD. Processing times can range from three days to a week or more, and some transactions are subject to restrictions that further slow down the process. Another major issue is the constant depreciation of the Congolese franc. In 2024, according to the Central Bank of Congo (BCC), the local currency depreciated by 0.12% on the official market and 0.39% on the parallel market against the US dollar.

Better fees

“XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange issues,” Ecobank indicates on its website. “By integrating XTransfer's cutting-edge solutions with our pan-African payment platform, we simplify payments, reduce transaction costs, and enable African businesses to thrive in global trade,” said Ecobank’s CEO, Jeremy Awori.

XTransfer’s competitive pricing model also stands out. Payments to supplier accounts in China are capped at 0.4%, while transfers between two XTransfer accounts are free and instantaneous. It remains to be seen how this pricing will evolve under the partnership with Ecobank.

“Leveraging Ecobank’s extensive payment network in Africa will accelerate our business expansion in the region,” commented Xtransfer CEO and Founder, Bill Deng.

For Ecobank, this partnership aligns with its broader strategy to drive financial integration across Africa while boosting its net banking income. In 2023, the bank ranked sixth in the DRC with $61 million in net banking income, far behind market leader Rawbank at $461 million. 

While the collaboration with XTransfer should help Ecobank be more competitive, the two partners must overcome various hurdles, including banking regulations, especially in the DRC. In its latest report on banking in the DRC, issued in December 2024, Deloitte revealed that the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) has been tightening the sector, introducing stricter rules to enhance transparency and combat money laundering.

This article was initially published in French by Timothée Manoke (intern)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho