Grey wants 20 million users. Its next bet is salary accounts

Grey, the Y Combinator-backed cross-border payments company, has launched Paycheck, a salary account for professionals earning in United States dollars, British pounds, and euros, as it sets its sights on growing beyond its current base of three million users.

The company, which has processed nearly $5 billion in payments since its inception and recorded a 170% year-on-year increase in total payment volume, announced the new product at Moonshot by TechCabal 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, on Wednesday.

“After a month of work, employees should have more to look forward to than the additional responsibility of sorting through transactions and keeping track of their earnings,” Idorenyin Obong, Grey’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said during a keynote address at Moonshot.

“A salary is central to how people meet their needs, plan ahead, and build financial security. We believe the financial services they use should reflect that importance.”

Founded in 2020 by Obong and Femi Aghedo, Grey has expanded from a currency exchange platform to a cross-border payments company serving individuals and businesses.

Its latest product, Paycheck, extends that expansion into salary management for professionals earning in foreign currencies.

Paycheck allows users to receive and manage their salaries in foreign currencies, automatically organise salary transactions, and access benefits including higher interest rates on savings, increased transaction limits, and priority customer support.

Existing customers receiving salaries through Grey can activate Paycheck without changing their account details. New users can share their Grey account information with employers or payroll providers, with the service activated after their next qualifying salary payment.

The launch marks another step in Grey’s efforts to move beyond facilitating cross-border transactions into offering financial services built around recurring income.

Grey Business, its multi-currency payment platform for startups and small businesses, has processed nearly $100 million since launching in February 2026. The platform allows businesses to receive international payments, manage foreign currency accounts, and send money across borders.

In June, TechCabal reported that the platform had processed $61.4 million in its first four months, driven partly by demand for stablecoin-based transactions.

The company said African markets, including Kenya, continue to record strong growth, with 30% month-on-month growth.

Grey has also introduced Chinese yuan payouts, enabling individuals and businesses to pay suppliers and other recipients in China. The company operates across 70 countries and supports payouts to over 170 destinations worldwide.

During his Moonshot keynote, Obong said the company was looking to expand beyond its current customer base, with ambitions to reach 10 million, and eventually 20 million users.

Grey’s strategy is that customers who come to the platform to collect money from abroad will have more reasons to stay if they can also manage their paychecks there.

With Paycheck, the company wants to turn an occasional transaction into a regular financial habit.