The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Monday formally introduced the Angolan Kwanza as a second settlement currency in the SADC real-time gross settlement (SADC-RTGS) system to boost regional trade. This was revealed by Lesetja Kganyago, the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and Chairperson of the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors, and Manuel Tiago Dias, Governor of the Banco Nacional de Angola. With the inclusion of the Angolan kwanza, the 15 countries participating in the SADC-RTG will benefit from reduced foreign exchange conversion requirements, helping to lower transaction costs. It also supports regional payments modernisation efforts and aligns with the Group of Twenty’s (G20) cross-border payments goals of reducing costs, increasing speed and improving efficiency in cross-border transactions. The SADC-RTG previously settled transactions exclusively in South African rand since its inception in 2013.