Halvard Trust joins the Southern Africa Payments Council

Published 14 January 2026

Halvard Trust Partners has been admitted as a participating member of the Southern Africa Payments Council, the industry body coordinating standards work across real-time clearing and instant payment schemes in the region.

Membership gives the firm a seat on two of the Council's technical working groups. Serena Okonjo-Blaine, Head of Treasury, will represent Halvard Trust on the settlement risk working group.

"Smaller institutions are usually spoken about rather than spoken to in these forums," she said. "That is worth changing, and you only change it by turning up."

The Council publishes its next standards consultation in March.