African payments startup Flutterwave will begin offering the transfers of stablecoins on its network, using blockchain technology provided by US company Polygon Labs.
Flutterwave has focused on processing fiat currency payments for businesses across more than 30 African countries, serving companies like Uber and Microsoft. Its embrace of stablecoins — a type of cryptocurrency whose value is tethered to fiat currencies such as the US dollar — aligns with growing adoption of alternative payment and monetary systems in countries like Nigeria and Kenya where regulators are fine-tuning policy to meet the moment. There has also been a call for African countries to consider launching stablecoins in their own currencies.
International remittance providers using stablecoins like USDC will be able to settle payments near-instantly on Flutterwave, the company said, also pitching it to local small businesses as an alternative to the global SWIFT network for international payments.
