The Quest for Cheap Payments in Africa: Circle’s Bold Move with USDC

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Ah, the great savior of Africa’s economic woes, stablecoin issuer Circle, has decided to sprinkle some magic dust on cross-border payments. Teaming up with Onafriq, Africa’s grand champion of payments, they are now embarking on a noble quest to reduce the exorbitant costs of moving money across the continent. And what’s their weapon of choice? USDC, of course.

Circle’s audacious plan involves piloting USDC (yes, you heard that right, USDC) settlements within Onafriq’s vast empire of financial networks. This includes a staggering 500 wallets and 200 million bank accounts across more than 40 countries. Let’s face it: If you’re going to disrupt something, you might as well aim high.

“By integrating USDC, we aim to simplify financial transactions for institutions and individuals, reduce costs and strengthen trust,” said Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of Onafriq, with a confident smile. Oh, how the world loves trust in financial transactions. All it takes is a little digital currency magic and voilà!

Apparently, the ‘simplification’ Okoudjou speaks of is set to do wonders. Currently, a whopping 80% of intra-African transactions pass through correspondent banks (what a charming term, right?), often settling in foreign currencies like the US dollar or euro. Naturally, this results in approximately $5 billion in fees every single year. A tidy sum for the lucky middlemen, but not so much for the people doing the actual work, eh?

Africa’s Untapped Potential: Just Waiting for Some Stablecoins

Miriam Kiwan, vice president at Circle, made sure to point out Africa’s immense potential for digital asset innovation. “Africa holds tremendous potential for stablecoin adoption,” she declared, almost as if she were unveiling a hidden treasure. And indeed, the continent is brimming with opportunities—if only someone would hand over the keys to the kingdom (or, you know, USDC). But hey, it’s all about secure, transparent digital payment rails that “empower” and “connect.” We all know how much people love being “empowered.”

By October 2024, stablecoin transactions had already accounted for a sizeable 43% of the total transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Chainalysis. Eric Jardine, cybercrimes research lead at Chainalysis, was quick to associate this spike with something called “currency devaluation.” Ah, the classics. And who could forget the Nigerian naira, Africa’s unfortunate currency superstar? Depreciating by more than 100% in 2024, it’s earned its title as the worst-performing currency. But don’t worry, stablecoins are here to save the day!

Circle’s Global Domination: One Stablecoin at a Time

The timing of this partnership couldn’t be more impeccable, as Circle is on a global conquest to expand USDC’s reach. On April 21, 2025, Circle launched the Circle Payments Network (CPN), a shiny new consortium of financial institutions all rallying under the banner of stablecoins. Already, over 20 partners have joined the ranks, including the likes of World Remit, Yellow Card, and Fireblocks. Even banks like Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank are lending their advisory support. Because, why not? Who doesn’t want a piece of the stablecoin pie?

The grand vision behind CPN is to tackle the inefficiencies of traditional cross-border payments. Remittances, payroll, treasury, and invoices—all will be handled with the greatest of ease (we hope). After all, why should transferring money be so complex when you can just throw some stablecoins into the mix?

And if that weren’t enough, Circle also received in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market on April 29. Yes, Circle is now officially a regulated money services provider in the United Arab Emirates. Truly, the empire strikes back.

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2025-04-30 12:56