Flutterwave, the largest fintech firm in Nigeria, is creating a cross-border payment platform utilizing stablecoins, showcasing the increasing significance of blockchain technology in facilitating payments throughout Africa.
The firm has teamed up with Polygon Labs to roll out the service throughout its network of 34 countries, as reported by Bloomberg Thursday. Polygon’s blockchain infrastructure is designed to provide scalable, faster, and more cost-effective transactions on Ethereum, enhancing both settlement speed and efficiency.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, mentioned that this initiative has the potential to transform financial flows across Africa, allowing businesses and consumers to avoid the high costs and delays commonly associated with traditional payment systems.
“The adoption of stablecoins will increase financial flows into Africa,” Agboola stated, noting that the effort “could potentially increase our current volumes by tenfold.”
This cross-border payment initiative is emerging amid a rise in stablecoin adoption across the continent. As Cointelegraph recently noted, cryptocurrencies like USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC) are increasingly utilized by locals to guard against inflation and to deal with ongoing currency instability.
Related: Wise hints at stablecoin ambitions with new digital-asset product lead search
Stablecoins as a More Affordable Remittance Option
Multiple factors are contributing to the growing popularity of stablecoins in Africa. Aside from serving as a safeguard against currency fluctuations, they are becoming effective remittance tools in a region where money transfers are crucial for household income and local economies.
A Chainalysis report from 2024 revealed that sending a $200 remittance from Sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 60% cheaper with stablecoins compared to traditional fiat-based transfer methods.
According to Chainalysis data also highlighted, Sub-Saharan Africa saw a rise in monthly on-chain transaction volumes in March 2025, even as other major regions faced declines. This increase coincided with significant currency devaluations in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, where most activity involved stablecoins and Bitcoin (BTC).
Adoption is progressing rapidly as countries in the region, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, adopt clearer and more supportive regulatory frameworks for crypto.
Related: African nations legislate new crypto laws in response to growing adoption
