Circle to Integrate USDC Across 30 African Markets
Circle Internet Group, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, announced a major expansion into Africa through a partnership with Sasai Fintech. The collaboration will integrate USDC directly into Sasai's payment and transfer application, which serves approximately 30 markets across the continent. This initiative is designed to enable faster and cheaper cross-border payments and remittances for both businesses and consumers, leveraging Sasai's established digital infrastructure.
Sasai Fintech, a subsidiary of the pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies, provides a suite of services including mobile money, digital payments, and social commerce. By incorporating Circle's USDC and on-chain tools, the partnership aims to offer a real-world alternative to legacy banking systems, providing near-instant settlement on the blockchain.
USDC Aims to Cut Africa's 8% Remittance Fees
Africa remains the world's most expensive region for sending money, with remittance fees averaging over 8% and sometimes exceeding 8.7% in sub-Saharan Africa. Stablecoins like USDC present a powerful alternative, with the potential to reduce transaction costs by as much as 85% while cutting settlement times from days to minutes. The partnership directly addresses this high-cost environment, a significant pain point for families and traders.
The move aligns with strong regional adoption trends. In 2024, stablecoins constituted 43% of all cryptocurrency volume in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting a clear demand for dollar-backed digital assets to hedge against local currency volatility and facilitate commerce. Nigeria has emerged as a key hub, logging nearly $22 billion in stablecoin activity this year alone, with a significant portion of crypto owners preferring to hold or be paid in stablecoins.
Partnership Taps Cassava's Pan-African Infrastructure
The deal leverages the significant market presence of Cassava Technologies, founded by billionaire Strive Masiyiwa. Cassava operates extensive infrastructure, including fiber optic networks and data centers, and holds key partnerships with global technology leaders like Nvidia and Google. Sasai Fintech recently collaborated with Western Union on an international remittance app in South Africa, demonstrating its capacity for large-scale financial deployments.
This strategic foundation provides Circle with a robust platform to expand USDC's use cases from consumer remittances to large-scale enterprise transactions, supporting the broader goal of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by reducing friction in intra-regional trade.
Africa's digital economy is entering a new era, propelled by entrepreneurship, a mobile-first generation, and the acceleration of intra-regional trade. By integrating with the trusted and widely adopted USDC network, we can drive financial inclusion and open transformative opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.
— Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman at Cassava Technologies.
