Cross-border supplier payments have long been a pain point for merchants in emerging markets.
Whether it’s a coffee exporter in Lagos or a distributor in Nairobi, traditional banking systems often built for slower, wealthier economies make it expensive and inefficient to pay global suppliers.
But that’s starting to change. A quiet revolution is underway, and it’s being powered by stablecoins.
Stablecoins are giving businesses in Africa a faster, cheaper, and more transparent way to pay suppliers across borders. What used to take 3 – 5 days and cost 5 – 6% in fees now takes minutes and can cost less than 1%. They are a compelling alternative to card networks and banks for moving money.
What’s broken with traditional cross-border payments?
Sending money from Nairobi to Shanghai or Lagos to Guanzhong usually involves multiple intermediary banks, hefty wire fees, poor FX rates, and painfully slow settlement times. The traditional financial system, for all its history, wasn’t built for the speed and seamlessness of the 21st century. For example, a $10,000 transfer from Kenya can easily rack up $100 or more in charges and take several days to clear. In economies with high inflation, businesses also face currency risk while payments are in transit.
These challenges aren’t just frustrating they’re barriers to growth, especially for small and mid-sized businesses trying to compete globally.
Stablecoins: A real-world solution, not just crypto hype
Merchants are now using stablecoins like USDT and USDC to leapfrog outdated infrastructure. Take the example of a Kenyan coffee exporter shipping to China. Traditionally, they’d need to convert shillings to dollars, then to yuan losing money at each step. With stablecoins, they can skip intermediaries and settle payments directly in USDT, often in under an hour.
Latin America shows similar momentum. In the past year, over $415 billion in stablecoin transactions flowed through the region around 9% of all global crypto activity. That’s not speculation; it’s payroll, supplier payments, and working capital being moved efficiently across borders.
The adoption curve is steep and accelerating
In 2024, stablecoin transaction volume hit $32 trillion globally. Payments related activity accounted for about $6 trillion just 3% of the global cross-border payments market, which stands at $195 trillion. But with the right infrastructure, analysts expect stablecoins could power up to 20% of all cross-border B2B payments within five years.
In Africa alone, $125 billion in crypto payments were recorded last year, with stablecoins making up $54 billion 43% of all activity. Local apps like Opera’s MiniPay have already onboarded over 7 million users, signaling demand for consumer-friendly, low-cost rails.
The infrastructure challenge: Off-ramps, compliance, and UX
Despite the strong momentum, stablecoin adoption is still held back by a lack of reliable
on-ramp and off-ramps, limited merchant acceptance, and uneven regulatory clarity. But some players are solving this:
- In Africa: YellowCard provides regulated off-ramps; Due and FinchTrade are helping enterprises manage large volumes and settlement.
- In LATAM: Bitso in Mexico, Mural Pay, and Circle (via local banking partners) are enabling stablecoin payroll, invoicing, and remittances at scale.
What the ideal platform looks like
To truly unlock this market, we need purpose-built platforms for supplier payments. That means:
- Multi-rail infrastructure: Support for blockchain rails, SWIFT, and local bank integrations
- Automated currency conversion: Real-time FX, escrow, and liquidity tools
- Compliance baked in: KYC, AML, audit trails, and jurisdiction-aware reporting
- Enterprise-ready UX: ERP integrations, bulk payments, dashboards, and analytics
What’s coming next
Regulators are catching up. Europe’s MiCA framework would go live in 2025. The U.S. is moving forward with the GENIUS and STABLE Acts. In Asia, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong have rolled out digital asset rules. The regulatory tone has shifted from fear to framework which bodes well for responsible adoption.
Final thought
For many businesses in Africa, stablecoins are not about crypto they’re about survival and competitiveness. They enable fast, low-cost access to USD liquidity and unlock new trade routes that were previously too expensive or slow to pursue.
As regulatory clarity improves and infrastructure matures, platforms that combine global reach with local usability will lead the next wave of innovation in cross-border trade. This isn’t just a fintech story it’s a story about rewriting the rules of global commerce.
About the writer
Udori Ekpin is a technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and the co-founder and CTO of Seventh Wave Technologies. With a strong background in backend engineering and digital infrastructure, Udori has led the development of innovative fintech platforms used by businesses across Africa. He has played key roles in scaling lending, KYC, and instant settlement products, and is recognized for building bootstrapped, high-impact systems from the ground up. Udori is passionate about empowering underserved markets through technology and building resilient financial tools for small and medium enterprises.
