LONDON (XOL Africa) — Onafriq, Africa’s largest payments network, has partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider Privy to develop regulated digital asset infrastructure designed to improve cross-border payments and treasury services for businesses across the continent.
The partnership, announced Tuesday, combines Onafriq’s pan-African payments network with Privy’s digital wallet and stablecoin infrastructure to support faster settlement, improved liquidity management and future institutional payment services, subject to regulatory approval.
The first phase of the collaboration will focus on cross-chain stablecoin transfers, treasury operations and settlement workflows, laying the groundwork for broader cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
The companies said the initiative addresses longstanding challenges in Africa’s payment ecosystem, where moving money between countries often depends on multiple intermediaries and lengthy settlement processes. By integrating stablecoin technology, the partners aim to reduce delays and improve efficiency for banks, fintech companies and mobile money operators.
Luke Kyohere, Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq, said the partnership aligns with the company’s strategy of investing in technologies that improve payment speed and accessibility.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible,” Kyohere said. “Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks.”
Onafriq said Privy’s enterprise-grade infrastructure will enable it to integrate digital asset wallet capabilities into its products while simplifying the user experience by managing the complexity of blockchain technology behind the scenes.
Henri Stern, co-founder and chief executive of Privy, said secure and scalable infrastructure is essential to expanding stablecoin adoption in global payments.
“Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement,” Stern said. “Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
The companies said future use cases will include stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services for institutional clients in markets where regulatory frameworks permit.
Onafriq operates across 43 African markets, connecting more than one billion mobile money wallets and 500 million bank accounts. Its network supports domestic and cross-border payments, collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking and treasury services. Privy, acquired by Stripe in 2025, provides wallet infrastructure for businesses building financial products using cryptocurrency and stablecoin technology.
