Barely a year after YellowCard partners Coinbase to enable its customers to access USDC (the second-largest stablecoin by market cap), YellowCard has announced another partnership, this time with Visa, a global digital payment firm.
This partnership will allow users of the YellowCard app in 20 African countries to access stablecoins, helping to ease cross-border payments—a major challenge in many developing countries where the crypto app is licensed to operate.
Stablecoin is a kind of cryptocurrency that is pegged 1:1 against fiat currency such as USDt, USDC among others, issued on several blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Tron, and Celo.
According to a joint statement by YellowCard and Visa, the collaboration aims to develop robust financial infrastructure across emerging markets.
YellowCard Crypto firm, licensed to operate in 20 African countries spanning West (Mali, Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo); East (Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya); South (Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, and South Africa); and Central Africa (DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon), has processed over $6 billion in transactions since its founding in 2016.
Founded by Christopher Maurice (Chief Executive Officer) and Justin Poiroux (Chief Technology Officer), the company says its latest partnership with Visa, focusing on stablecoins, will further simplify and reduce the cost of financial transactions across these countries—compared to conventional cross-border banking methods, which are often expensive and slow.
The partnership will enable both current stablecoin users and businesses yet to adopt the technology to improve liquidity management and facilitate faster, more cost-effective cross-border money transfers.
There is a surge in the demand and adoption of stablecoins because of their stability over other cryptocurrencies. The rise has forced U.S Congress to push for a bill to regulate stablecoins use and adoption in the country.
Chris Maurice, CEO of YellowCard, said he is excited to “partner with Visa to help realize the potential of stablecoins technology in emerging economies,” while Godfrey Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA at Visa, stated that the partnership will offer users “faster and more accessible digital payments.”