TSC Group · Vision paper · November 2026

Many currencies.
One market.

Africa does not need another currency. It needs its currencies to be able to meet.

TSC is intended to be a regulated, institutional settlement instrument that lets value move between African currencies, without replacing national currencies. Its legal structure and supervisory safeguards would require approval in each participating jurisdiction.

Discussion paperExisting simulation and proposed issuance are distinctFor central banks, banks, corporates and investors
Two payments, one invoice

It is 9 o'clock on a Monday in Lagos.

Chinedu runs a fabric wholesale business on the Island. He owes Ama, his supplier in Kumasi, 25,000 Ghana cedis for a container of woven cloth. He has the money. It is in naira, in a Nigerian bank.

Today

His naira cannot simply become her cedis.

One possible route involves conversion through a major international currency and correspondent banking relationships. The actual route, fees and timing depend on the banks and available liquidity.

Ama waits for confirmation before shipping. The example illustrates the friction that can arise when direct currency liquidity is limited.

With TSC

Chinedu taps "pay" in his bank app.

In the proposed model, participating institutions validate the payment, secure an executable quote and coordinate the naira and cedi legs. An authorised TSC arrangement could settle the interbank obligation, subject to agreed liquidity and finality rules.

Ama receives cedis after confirmed settlement. Neither customer would need to hold TSC. The actual completion time would depend on the participating rails.

Naira, in NigeriaCedis, in GhanaOffshore detourTSC, between banks
AFRICA OUTSIDE AFRICA Today With TSC Buyer, Lagospays in naira Nigerian bankbuys US dollars CorrespondentNew York, in dollars Ghanaian banksells the dollars Weaver, Kumasipaid in cedis Illustrative correspondent route · timing and fees vary Buyer, Lagospays in naira Nigerian banknaira leg, onshore TSC settlementbetween banks Ghanaian bankcedi leg, onshore Weaver, Kumasipaid in cedis Proposed route · quote and settlement depend on available liquidity
The same payment, today and with TSC. Watch the dots: one leaves the continent, the other never does. Illustrative.

The design objective is simple: local currencies remain under local rules, while regulated institutions gain another way to coordinate cross border settlement. The detour could become less necessary.

The detour Africa pays for

Africa trades with itself through other people's currencies.

Direct liquidity between some African currency pairs remains limited, and international correspondent routes continue to play an important role in regional payments.

42currencies on the continentIMF, 2022 ↗
~12%of intra-African payments cleared within Africa in 2017; the rest went via Europe and North AmericaIMF, 2022 ↗
US$5bnestimated yearly cost added by routing overseasIMF, 2022 ↗
8.46%average cost of sending US$200 to Sub-Saharan Africa, Q3 2025 (world: 6.36%)World Bank data ↗
US$213.8bnreported intra African trade in 2025, up 5.5%Afreximbank ↗

A historical IMF example reported a costly and slow Ghana to Nigeria payment; this should not be read as a current corridor benchmark. AfCFTA aims to reduce trade barriers over time. Payment friction remains one of the challenges to regional commerce.

✓
Africa is already fixing this. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) now spans 28 countries and links more than 190 banks and fintechs, directly or indirectly (July 2026). PAPSS proves the will exists. TSC would explore interoperability with existing regional infrastructure, including PAPSS where technically and commercially agreed. Liquidity would still need to be sourced for each supported corridor.
The thinking behind the instrument

One ambition. Several possible designs.

We explored different ways to represent African economic value. Each solves a different problem. The preferred first step is an institutional settlement proposition, not a retail currency or investment fund.

01 · Considered

African equity basket

Listed African businesses as economic exposure. A floating investment value, with market and securities risks.

02 · Considered

Trade receivables

Commercial invoices as underlying claims. Introduces credit, maturity and collection risks.

03 · Design option

Liquid reserves

Potential backing for a redeemable claim. Reserve assets, valuation and redemption terms remain open.

04 · Adoption engine

Transaction ecosystems

Trade, commerce and payment activity create demand for infrastructure, not collateral for redemption.

↓
PREFERRED INITIAL DIRECTION · SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION

Institutional settlement TSC

Designed for short duration use between regulated institutions. Issuance, legal rights and reserve model remain to be determined.

↓
Separate longer term research

A possible African economic basket or common reference unit, without conflating it with the initial settlement instrument.

The idea

A meeting point for African currencies.

TSC is intended to be a regulated, institutional settlement instrument. It would help eligible institutions coordinate obligations between African currencies. Its settlement asset, legal rights, liquidity arrangements and permitted corridors remain design and approval questions.

Think of TSC as the floor of a trading hall, not a currency in anyone's pocket. Naira, cedis, shillings and rand walk in through their own national doors. They meet in TSC. They walk out as each other. Every door is guarded by the country that owns it.

TSC is

  • A settlement instrument between licensed institutions
  • A proposed means of recording and settling institutional obligations
  • Subject to an approved valuation, backing and redemption design before any issuance
  • Used for the cross-border leg of a payment only
  • Subject to the applicable oversight of participating jurisdictions

TSC is not

  • Money for citizens, merchants or retail wallets
  • A new national or regional currency
  • A speculative token or an investment product
  • Used for domestic payments inside any country
  • A way around capital controls or FX rules
1
Local money stays local

Every payment starts and ends in a national currency, in a national bank account, under national law.

2
National FX rules apply

Each currency conversion must follow the applicable local market rules and authorised dealing arrangements.

3
Netting where permitted

Eligible obligations may be offset under enforceable agreements, subject to liquidity and risk controls.

4
Supervisory visibility by design

Proposed access controls would give supervisors authorised views, subject to law and agreement.

How the money moves

Three illustrative journeys.

In every journey the customer deals only with their own bank, in their own currency. TSC lives one level down, between institutions. The people and businesses are illustrative; the steps are the intended design.

In Nigeria · nairaBetween licensed banks · TSCIn Ghana · cedis
Journey 1 · A Lagos wholesaler pays a Kumasi weaver GHS 25,000 IN NIGERIA · NAIRA BETWEEN LICENSED BANKS · TSC IN GHANA · CEDIS fails 1 · Chinedu paysthe invoice, in his bank app 2 · Checks, both sidessanctions and FATF travel ruleNigerian and Ghanaian rules Stoppedbefore any money moves 3 · Executable quotecompeting providers price it 4 · Naira leghis account is debitedthe naira stays in Nigeria 5 · Proposed TSC steppositions recorded under agreed rulesfinality subject to participating rails 6 · Cedi legAma gets GHS 25,000after confirmed receipt 7 · Evidencea proposed verifiable record for institutions and authorised supervisors
Read it by colour: green never leaves the left lane, orange never leaves the right. Only the obligation between the two banks crosses the gold middle.
Journey 2 · Corporate treasury

A manufacturer explores regional netting.

A consumer-goods group has plants in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Every month its subsidiaries invoice one another for raw materials, packaging and shared services. Some obligations may require separate currency conversions and settlement instructions.

Under an agreed multilateral arrangement, eligible obligations could be converted into a common reference unit and offset. Actual settlement requirements would depend on currency conversion, legal enforceability and liquidity safeguards.

NGNGHSKESnet once a cycle
Journey 3 · Cross-border wages

A Ghanaian engineer in Lagos sends money home.

On payday Akosua sends GHS 3,000 to her mother in Takoradi through her bank or a licensed money-transfer operator. Her provider runs the same seven steps behind the scenes.

Her mother receives cedis in her bank or mobile-money account. The provider could present an executable quote and transparent fees, subject to liquidity and the participating rails. Akosua never touches TSC.

from NGNto GHSTSC unseen
Money that never has to travel

Could offsetting reduce the amount institutions need to settle?

Trade runs both ways. Nigerian buyers pay Ghanaian sellers, and Ghanaian buyers pay Nigerian sellers, on the same day. A legally enforceable netting framework could offset eligible obligations. The diagram below demonstrates arithmetic only, using a common reference unit. It does not estimate actual African payment flows or funding savings.

107 64 35 5 Kenya net position: 0 reference units Nigeria₦ Ghana₵ KenyaKSh Illustrative obligations · common reference units
Illustrative reference units: Nigeria to Ghana 10, Ghana to Nigeria 7; Nigeria to Kenya 6, Kenya to Nigeria 4; Ghana to Kenya 3, Kenya to Ghana 5. Net positions: Nigeria pays 5, Ghana receives 5, Kenya 0. Actual FX and liquidity are not modelled.
35gross reference units across 6 obligations

Press After netting to see what is left.

Netting is used in established payment arrangements. Applying it across currencies requires common valuation rules, participant agreements, liquidity and default management.

Sovereignty by design

National monetary sovereignty is a design constraint.

The proposed architecture must preserve domestic monetary authority and comply with national payment and FX rules. Supervisory features are proposed, not currently approved.

observe · limit · pause supervisessupervises Nigeria's central bankmonetary policy and FX rulesunchanged by TSC Ghana's central bankmonetary policy and FX rulesunchanged by TSC Nigerian banksnaira accountsnaira converted onshore TSC settlementbetween licensed banks onlylegal classification to be agreed Ghanaian bankscedi accountscedis converted onshore People and businesseshold and spend naira People and businesseshold and spend cedis No TSC in wallets or shops
Dashed gold lines illustrate proposed supervisory access, limits and pause controls. Implementation requires jurisdiction specific agreements and technical integration.
₦₵
Issuance model undecided

Legal classification, reserve assets, valuation and redemption terms require regulatory design and approval.

✕
Institutional access proposed

Retail distribution and domestic circulation are excluded from the initial design. Wider monetary effects still require assessment.

⚖
FX rules apply as always

Converted onshore by licensed dealers. Capital-flow rules and documents are checked before value moves.

⏻
Supervisory controls proposed

Corridor limits, access and pause rights would be defined with competent authorities before any authorised operation.

The group

Four distinct business roles.

The group vision separates commerce, orchestration, issuance and custody. The businesses are at different stages; any future legal entities, licences, balance sheets and intercompany contracts must be established as applicable.

TSC GROUP Proposed group strategy and governance
↓ Four distinct roles
HALITESCommerce product concept and demoProduct development
TENITESSimulation and institutional orchestrationExisting platform capability
SKAITESFuture issuerProposed and subject to authorisation
CERNITESFuture custodianProposed and subject to authorisation
Halites
Commerce infrastructure

ShopBook for merchants and distributors. Creates the invoice and payment reference Chinedu pays.

MVP demo · pilot proposed
Tenites
Settlement orchestration

Compliance checks, routing, quotes, reconciliation and evidence. Never holds customers' money.

Platform built · pilot integration under way
Skaites
Proposed TSC issuer

Would issue and redeem an externally issued TSC, with reserves and redemption rules, once authorised.

Proposed · subject to licensing
Cernites
Proposed custodian

Would safekeep the reserves that back TSC, for institutional clients only.

Proposed · subject to licensing

Value settles on the balance sheets of licensed banks and providers. Pactis Technology Ltd holds a Nigerian PSSP licence. The scope of any proposed settlement, issuance or cross border activity requires separate legal assessment and any necessary permissions.

How it could work

Coordinate. Confirm. Reconcile.

The platform coordinates an instruction. The participating institutions and their payment systems determine when funds have legally settled.

Illustrative design, not a claim of cross system atomic settlement. Legal finality, prefunding, insolvency treatment and participant default procedures require corridor specific agreements.

The hard questions, answered

Every seat at the table has a question.

A settlement instrument earns trust by answering hard questions before they are asked.

CBThe central bankerWhat is a TSC unit worth?

In the pilot, TSC is an internal clearing credit, used only to measure and net obligations between institutions. Netting could reduce gross settlement obligations, but funding and reserve needs remain subject to testing.

The unit and reserve design of an externally issued TSC is deliberately left open for participating regulators to shape. Options include a reference currency, a basket of African currencies, or settlement directly in central bank money.

CBThe central bankerDoes this compete with PAPSS?

TSC is conceived as complementary to existing infrastructure. Interoperability with PAPSS is a potential design pathway, not an established partnership or integration.

BTThe bank treasurerHow much liquidity do I have to tie up?

Funding requirements would depend on the netting agreement, settlement cycle, collateral, liquidity buffers and default arrangements. No quantified saving is assumed.

BTThe bank treasurerWhere does the exchange rate come from?

From competing quotes by participating liquidity providers. The design would seek executable quotes from eligible liquidity providers. Quote validity and the applicable FX market rules would be defined per corridor.

PEThe payments engineerWhen is a payment final?

The platform can coordinate instructions and record confirmations, but it cannot by itself guarantee atomicity across independent fiat systems. Each corridor needs rules for settlement finality, partial failure, recovery and dispute handling.

PEThe payments engineerWill it plug into what we run?

The proposed design includes structured payment messaging and a verifiable ledger. Specific message conformance, participant access and independent verification require integration testing.

COThe compliance officerWho screens, and against what?

The intended workflow applies risk based identity checks, applicable sanctions screening, relevant transfer information obligations and corridor specific rules. Screening, escalation, blocking and audit requirements must be validated with each regulated participant.

INThe investorWhere is the business?

Institutions pay a settlement fee measured in basis points on the value they move. Halites adds a second engine: the commercial activity that creates payments in the first place. The opportunity grows with intra-African trade itself.

The path

Earn trust one corridor at a time.

Each stage opens only when regulators and participants agree the previous one has proved itself. The sequence is fixed; the dates are not.

Now

Prove corridors

  • Simulation pilots targeting Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya corridors
  • TSC as an internal clearing credit
  • Value settles over existing licensed rails
GateDemonstrated simulation results and agreed live pilot permissions
Next

Design the rules

  • Legal classification
  • Settlement finality
  • Reserves, redemption and custody rules
  • Regulatory sandboxes
GateApproval in each participating country
Only if authorised

Issued TSC

  • Skaites issues TSC, fully reserved
  • Reserves with a regulated custodian
  • Institutions settle under approved operating hours and finality rules
GateSign-off by both central banks, per corridor
Horizon

Link central banks

  • Connect to national RTGS systems
  • And to central bank digital currencies
  • More corridors, one pair at a time

The third stage happens only if regulators authorise it. If they choose a different model, such as settlement directly in central bank money, the first two stages still stand on their own.

What could be
2035

It is 9 o'clock on a Monday, ten years on.

Chinedu · Lagos

He now runs three warehouses. He buys cloth from Kumasi and shea butter from a women's cooperative in northern Ghana, and sells Kano leather goods to retailers in Nairobi. He pays and gets paid across borders the way he deals with a shop down the road. He has not bought a dollar to pay an African in years.

Ama · Kumasi

She exports to six countries. She prices in cedis and gets paid in cedis. Her bank lends to her against invoices it can see being paid, on time, every month, across borders.

Central banks · Accra, Nairobi, Abuja

Officials open a screen each morning and see their corridors live: what moved, what was netted, what was stopped and why. They set the limits. They hold the switch.

Africa's reserves

A successful regional settlement model could reduce reliance on some external correspondent routes. Any reserve or foreign currency savings would need to be measured.

None of this needs a single currency, a new central bank or anyone to give up sovereignty. It needs a place where Africa's currencies can meet, and rules that every central bank trusts.

An invitation

Help us design it.

The Tenites simulation architecture offers a starting point for technical validation. The externally issued TSC and its legal arrangements remain proposals. The decisions that matter most (the safeguards, the corridors, the reserve model and the first pilots) are ones we want to make together.

  • Central banks
  • Licensed banks and payment providers
  • Pan-African corporates
  • Development finance institutions
  • Strategic investors