Stellar (XLM) has entered into a new partnership that will enable it to expand its presence in the money transfer market in Africa. The latter is a key target for payment companies, given the low level of banking among its population.
Stellar and Flutterwave: a new payment gateway between Europe and Africa
On October 25, 2021, the Stellar Foundation announced its collaboration with the international payment technology company, Flutterwave, which will use the USD Coin (USDC) on Stellar to facilitate money transfers between Europe and Africa. Stellar had announced in February 2021 the integration of USD Coin into its network.
Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola noted that it was “more expensive to send money to sub-Saharan Africa than to any other region in the world.” This partnership will allow Flutterwave to provide “cost-effective and much-needed money transfer services to African business owners.” Flutterwave will work with Tempo Payments, a Paris-based money transfer agent and Stellar’s primary payment partner in the European Union.
For the Stellar Foundation, this collaboration contributes to its mission of creating equitable access to the global financial system.
Stellar and its strategic partnerships: conquering the African remittance market
Flutterwave has reportedly processed over 140 million transactions since its inception, totaling over $9 billion. The company has reportedly provided its services to more than 290,000 businesses, including well-known companies like Uber, Booking.com, and Facebook. More importantly, and in today’s news, the firm has operations in over 33 African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa.
The Stellar Foundation has been trying to expand into African countries for about a year. It had partnered with the payment company ClickPesa in November 2020. Click Pesa offers a payment gateway to the banking systems in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.
The Stellar Development Foundation also recently entered into an agreement with the payment company MoneyGram. It is thus multiplying its partnerships with traditional financial players to expand geographically and develop the adoption of its network.
