Mambo 👋 , NALA bet $40 Million on Rafiki, its B2B stablecoin platform. Now MoneyGram, with 80 years of moving money, is betting on it too.
The Story
MoneyGram partnered with Nala for stablecoin-powered local payouts across Africa and Asia.
MoneyGram, which has been moving money for over 80 years, will now use Nala’s Rafiki infrastructure to settle payments in local currencies using stablecoins as the backend rail.
MoneyGram has already been working with stablecoin partners including Fireblocks and Crossmint. The partnership with Nala deepens its commitment at a moment when the entire remittance industry is being redefined.
On Nala’s side, the move looks well timed. The company first raised $10 million to scale its consumer remittance product, then $40 million for Rafiki. its B2B stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure. MoneyGram choosing Rafiki is the kind of validation that makes that second bet look right.
Deals
NectarFi raised $170K to build a stablecoin-powered payments, spending, and investment platform.
Launches and Partnerships
Kredete partnered with Visa to issue stablecoin-backed credit cards. The fintech will enable Africans to spend USDC at 150 Million+ merchants worldwide through the Visa network.
Nigeria’s stablecoin Fintech, Juicyway which has processed over $4 billion, secured PSP license in Canada.
Helicode and Yellow Card partnered to bring stablecoin-powered payroll payouts in local currencies across Africa.
Regulation
Binance is reportedly blocking Kenyan users from accessing their money on its platform after being asked to do so by Kenyan government authorities.
Madini
“Stablecoin is the mobile money of the internet” - Dare Okoudjou, CEO and Founder of Onafriq. He shared why stablecoins are best understood as programmable mobile money for the internet, and why the dollar stablecoin narrative may create systemic risks for African banking systems.
From Inside
Juiceway, Zuniq, Fincra, and Wewire had one thing in common; offering stablecoin-powered payments. Now they have another; all four have secured PSP licenses in Canada.
Crypto regulation is still unclear in most countries. Canada’s PSP license is becoming the nearest credible option for African stablecoin companies that cannot wait for home regulators to decide.
On the record
“Sub-Saharan Africa received $205bn in on-chain value - Nigeria alone $92.1bn. But McKinsey/Artemis estimate actual stablecoin payments at under $1bn. Still nascent”
Source; Frontier Fintech
Written from inside Africa with love 🇹🇿💚