Stablecoins are gaining traction in Africa, and Visa’s latest partnership with Yellow Card Financial aims to accelerate their use for cross-border payments.
The collaboration, which will launch in an unnamed African country later this year, focuses on using digital dollars such as USDC to offer faster, cheaper money transfers across the continent.
Yellow Card, a licensed stablecoin payments provider active in over 20 African nations, has emerged as a key player in promoting blockchain-based financial solutions.
The partnership with Visa is designed to connect traditional banks and financial institutions to these new payment technologies.
According to Yellow Card’s co-founder and CEO Chris Maurice,
“Visa sells virtually to every bank in the world, so it opens up opportunities to work with the broader financial institutions that can benefit from the technology the most.”
The deal will explore stablecoin applications for treasury management and liquidity operations, with plans to integrate with Visa Direct to improve cross-border transactions.
Yellow Card is the first African crypto firm to link with Visa on stablecoins.
This will allow digital dollar payments to settle continuously, including on weekends and holidays, reducing costs and delays often associated with conventional banking corridors.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, stablecoins have seen rapid growth, now accounting for 43% of all crypto transaction volume in the region.
Local currencies face ongoing depreciation, while access to US dollars is limited, making digital dollar-based stablecoins a practical alternative.
Chainalysis data confirms a significant rise in stablecoin use, with Nigeria alone recording $59 billion in crypto volume last year, mostly from smaller transactions under $1 million.
This trend reflects the widespread grassroots adoption of stablecoins for remittances, payments, and savings.
Regulatory clarity is evolving, with several African countries advancing crypto laws.
Kenya’s draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill is considered one of the most forward-looking.
Edline Murungi, senior legal counsel at Yellow Card, told Bloomberg:
“Those use cases are going to really change the industry. And if other countries follow suit, then Kenya is going to be a hub for a lot of digital-asset activities.”
Mauritius and Botswana have already enacted crypto legislation, and other regional economies are formalising frameworks for digital asset activities.
Visa’s move coincides with similar efforts in the region.
On 30 April, stablecoin issuer Circle partnered with Onafriq, Africa’s largest payments network, to pilot USDC settlements across 40 countries.
Onafriq connects over 500 wallets and 200 million bank accounts, aiming to reduce the $5 billion annual fees tied to correspondent banking and reliance on foreign intermediaries.
This marks a wider industry push to use stablecoins as an efficient and affordable settlement method within Africa.
Visa’s senior vice president Godfrey Sullivan commented,
“In 2025, we believe that every institution that moves money will need a stablecoin strategy.”
The company has already facilitated over $225 million in stablecoin settlements through its network in the CEMEA region, which includes Africa.
Sullivan added that Visa is ready to help partners navigate the shift toward blockchain-enabled payments, bringing “scale, trust and innovation” to the process.
Maurice from Yellow Card summed it up:
“Together with Visa, we’re building a bridge between traditional finance and the future of money movement. We look forward to continuing to innovate new solutions that can transform how money moves for even more secure, efficient, and transparent payment solutions.”
With steady adoption, improving regulation, and partnerships between established payment giants and crypto innovators, Africa is shaping up to be a proving ground for stablecoin-powered finance.
As dollar shortages and currency volatility persist, digital dollars could offer a lifeline for individuals and businesses alike.
Whether stablecoins will evolve into the continent’s core payment infrastructure remains to be seen, but the momentum is undeniable—and the stakes are high for both traditional finance and emerging fintech players.
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