Onafriq joins hands with Circle to power USDC payments

• Collaboration marks a step towards leveraging stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure to boost Onafriq’s payment network.
• Companies say by integrating USDC, they seek to simplify financial transactions for institutions and individuals, reduce costs, and strengthen trust.
• Currently, over 80% of intra-African payments are routed through correspondent banks outside the continent and settled in foreign currencies.

Payments company Onafriq has joined hands with Circle, stablecoin market leader and issuer of USDC, in a deal aimed at transforming cross-border payments and digital financial services across Africa.

In a statement, the two firms noted that their collaboration marks a significant step towards compliantly leveraging stablecoins and blockchain infrastructure to boost Onafriq’s payment network, positioning it at the forefront of the digital payment’s revolution for real-world financial applications.

“Our partnership with Circle is an important milestone, reinforcing Onafriq’s commitment to harnessing technology to remove complexity from cross-border payments. By integrating USDC, we aim to simplify financial transactions for institutions and individuals, reduce costs, and strengthen trust,” stated Onafriq’s founder and CEO, Dare Okoudjou.

He added, “This collaboration underscores our vision to democratise access to payments and drive financial inclusion across the globe. We’re not just envisioning the future of payments – we’re actively building it.”

With a network spanning 40 African markets, Onafriq says that it connects over 500 million mobile money wallets, 200 million bank accounts, and over 400,000 agents in the continent’s biggest economy Nigeria, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services.

Currently, over 80 percent of intra-African payments are routed through correspondent banks outside the continent and settled in foreign currencies such as the US dollar or Euro.

According the two partners, this [re-routing] results in a staggering $5 billion in transaction fees annually and undermines economic integration efforts.

Read also: How Africa’s payments network Onafriq is integrating social mission with its business aspirations

Onafriq piloting USDC-powered settlement solutions

“Onafriq and Circle are working together to change this paradigm by piloting the use of USDC-powered settlement solutions into Onafriq’s network, which connects over 500 wallets and 200 million bank accounts in more than 40 African markets,” the companies stated.

“The emerging markets that Onafriq serves hold tremendous potential for digital asset innovation, particularly in the adoption of stablecoins for cross-border payments. Our partnership with Onafriq aligns perfectly with Circle’s mission to promote financial inclusion and improve efficiency in areas where traditional banking has often been costly and inaccessible,” noted Miriam Kiwan, Vice President, Middle East and Africa at Circle.

She added, “Together, we aim to transform how money moves across borders, offering secure and transparent digital payment rails that enhance economic empowerment and connectivity.”

At the moment, Circle enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications across the world.

This collaboration is a major step toward a more inclusive and self-reliant pan-African financial system. It signals a new phase in the modernisation of African payment rails – one where blockchain technology is applied responsibly, in lockstep with regulators and financial institutions, to build a faster, more efficient, and economically empowering future for the continent.