Thakoor seeks African payment connectivity through Mauritius
Bank of Mauritius Governor Dr Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor proposed using the Mauritius International Financial Centre as a cross-border payment hub. She spoke at Visa Direct Day in Flic-en-Flac on June 17, 2026.
One centre across fragmented markets
Thakoor cited World Bank data from September 2025 putting the cost of sending money to Africa at 8 to 8.5 percent.
Fragmented regulation, limited interoperability, weak transparency and intermediary currencies constrain trade and inclusion.
She proposed Mauritius as an aggregation, clearing, settlement and treasury platform connecting, rather than replacing, national payment systems.
Firms could collect multiple currencies, consolidate funds, manage liquidity and reconcile regional flows from one jurisdiction.
She cited regulatory reliability, capital-flow openness, multilingual skills and a time zone bridging Africa and Asia.
Visa partnerships with local banks and fintechs support contactless payments, digital wallets and tokenization.
Common standards before wider reach
The Bank of Mauritius Innovation Hub, Innov8, supports collaboration and hosted a Visa payments workshop earlier in 2026.
The Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub connects innovators, investors and institutions.
Thakoor called for ISO 20022 messaging, bank-fintech integration and stronger cooperation with African central banks, regional payment systems and multilateral institutions.
She required risk-based anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls, beneficial ownership scrutiny, sanctions screening, customer due diligence, data protection and cyber resilience.
Connectivity requires discipline
Thakoor framed the hub as a coordination platform, not a replacement for African payment systems.
She identified central bank digital currencies, tokenised deposits and digital settlement as avenues for exploration.
Governance, legal certainty and financial integrity remain conditions for experimentation.