Rich by Coin

Flutterwave, Africa’s largest payments infrastructure startup, is accelerating its pivot away from traditional banking rails with the launch of stablecoin balances for merchants and users across its platform, signaling a deeper bet on blockchain-based settlement as a core layer of the continent’s financial infrastructure. The new feature, launched in partnership with blockchain infrastructure provider Turnkey and AI-powered global banking platform Nuvion, allows Flutterwave users to hold, send, and receive stablecoins such as USDC and USDT alongside fiat currencies including the U.S. dollar and the Nigerian naira within embedded wallets across Flutterwave’s products. Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to fiat assets such as the U.S. dollar, have increasingly emerged as a settlement alternative for payments companies in emerging markets, where currency volatility, capital controls, and correspondent banking frictions complicate international commerce. Flutterwave’s latest rollout reflects a broader shift among African fintechs toward embedding crypto-native rails beneath familiar payment interfaces.

In October 2025, the company partnered with Polygon Labs, making Polygon its default network for cross-border stablecoin settlements. That move laid the groundwork for programmable, blockchain-based payments at scale. The stablecoin wallet rollout also builds on Flutterwave’s acquisition of Mono, the Nigerian open banking startup it bought in 2025. By steadily bringing more of its payments stack in-house, from open banking connectivity to blockchain settlement, Flutterwave is gaining tighter control over transaction flows, costs, and reliability.

Under the new setup, Turnkey provides the wallet infrastructure and security layer that enables Flutterwave to offer embedded stablecoin wallets, while Nuvion bridges fiat and stablecoin rails through its AI-powered global banking platform. The integration allows merchants to move seamlessly between currencies while maintaining compliance and security standards. Flutterwave joins a growing list of payments and crypto-native companies, including Polymarket, Axiom, and Alchemy, that have integrated Turnkey’s infrastructure. As Africa’s digital economy becomes increasingly cross-border, Flutterwave’s stablecoin push signals a future where programmable money, rather than correspondent banking, underpins how value moves in and out of the continent.