Hello Fintech friends,
Quoting renowned African banking titan and tech investor Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede on what it takes to drive cross-border growth "Attracting long-term investment requires both world-class financial infrastructure and policy consistency. Investors must have absolute confidence in market liquidity and the seamless repatriation of capital."
To achieve this, Africa needs solid financial infrastructure. Right now, moving money across borders through traditional banking corridors drains between 5.8% and 8% in transaction fees a quiet but devastating tax on regional trade and billions of dollars in annual remittance flows.
Builders inside the ecosystem are bypassing them entirely. They are moving the backend infrastructure straight onto blockchain rails to cut out old banking detours. And if you want proof of who is leading that charge, look no further than Flutterwave.
Since the start of the year, Flutterwave has been aggressively rebuilding itself into an issuer agnostic settlement gateway. In a single month, it secured strategic equity investments from both Ripple and Circle Ventures, embedding USDC and RLUSD stablecoin settlement directly into its backend rails. This completely cuts out the multi day banking delays that have long slowed down African commerce.
They are rewriting the continent's financial rails so businesses can settle transactions instantly and cheaply. This week was a major step forward, and proof that they really mean it.
Let's look at the rest of this week's fintech news from Africa.
📰 News of the Week
Circle Ventures invested in Flutterwave to back the fintech company's ongoing expansion.
Circle Ventures made a strategic investment in Flutterwave to expand its stablecoin infrastructure across 34 African markets. The funding enables merchants to accept payments in local currencies and settle transactions instantly in USDC, bypassing slow banking hours and lowering traditional cross-border payment costs.
Fundraise, Venture Capital and Exit
Policy & Regulations
Partnerships & Product Launches
BEAC joined PAPSS, connecting cross-border digital payments between Central Africa and other regions.
South African startup Float set its sights on expanding services into the UK.
GTCO planned the deployment of 200,000 PoS terminals across Nigeria during 2026.
Flutterwave partnered with Xoom to enable seamless international bank transfers to Africa.
KCB partnered with Mastercard to launch new Shariah compliant digital payment solutions.
Taptap Send secured three UAE Central Bank licenses to expand digital payments.
PiggyVest officially launched a dedicated business platform tailored for diverse Nigerian companies.
Cedar Money and Noah partnered to streamline regional business-to-business trade payments across Africa.
Read of the week
The 2026 stablecoin landscape has shifted to highly regulated institutional infrastructure.
Stablecoin & Crypto Watch
Other News, Reads, and Media
Busha partnered with Women in DeFi to equip African women for tech careers.
Video Interviews/Discussions
Stablecoin Salons Africa Series, Edition IV in Johannesburg was an absolute success and one for the books. Here is the breakdown of what you missed and why you can’t skip the next. P.S. Our next stop is global, let’s meet at Stablecon ’26 in Washington, D.C this September.
Tweet of the Week
That's all for this week. See you next Monday.
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