Absa Group has become the first bank in Sub-Saharan Africa to implement J.P. Morgan’s Wire 365 solution, enabling USD clearing 365 days a year with real-time, uninterrupted access to cross-border payments.
This was announced in a linkedln by J.P. Morgan’s Executive Director- Head of Sub-Saharan Africa FIG Sales, May Okail Wafa.
This move means that Absa Bank to receive and credit incoming USD flows even on weekends and public holidays, eliminating traditional cut-off times.
By removing temporal constraints, Wire 365 enhances liquidity management and gives clients greater flexibility to optimise cash flows and meet payment obligations efficiently.
Absa’s adoption underscores its commitment to innovation in African banking, and signals a new baseline for USD payment processing reliability in the region.
Wire 365 is J.P. Morgan’s always-on global USD clearing infrastructure that supports the full range of US dollar wire products every day of the year.
It allows financial institutions and corporate clients to execute time-sensitive, high-priority cross-border payments even on weekends and holidays. With J.P. Morgan’s Wire 365, payments flow through a global network of over 4,000 institutions.
Operating 24/7, J.P. Morgan’s payments infrastructure processes over 5,000 transactions per second and handles more than USD 10 trillion in payments daily, across over 170 countries and 120 currencies.
Wire 365 is designed to minimise settlement risk, reduce delays, and support continuous cash forecasting and liquidity.
Absa’s deployment of Wire 365 gives it a distinct advantage in the USD payments ecosystem in Africa. It enables corporate and institutional clients to avoid weekend/holiday delays, which historically have forced them to schedule payments ahead or hold excess liquidity idle.
In effect, Absa now offers “always-on USD clearing”, which helps clients smooth cash flows, reduce idle balances, and respond more nimbly to payment demands. That position may deepen Absa’s relationships with multinational firms, institutions, and trade corridors in Africa.
But the move also raises expectations: other regional banks may need to adopt similar capabilities or partner with global platforms to stay competitive.
As cross-border trade in Africa continues to expand, the demand for reliable foreign-currency rails will grow. Absa’s early adoption could reposition it as a USD clearing hub for parts of the continent.
About Absa
Absa Group Limited, headquartered in Johannesburg, is a major pan-African banking and financial services conglomerate listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
It has operations in 10–12 Sub-Saharan African countries and maintains representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria.
Absa offers integrated services across retail, business, corporate & investment banking, wealth management, and insurance.
Its international arm, Absa CIB, provides a single point of contact to bridge global clients into Africa.
Recently, Absa appointed Kenny Fihla, formerly a Standard Bank executive, as its new Group CEO (effective June 2025), signaling renewed strategic energy.