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Yellow Card Financial and Visa signed a deal to promote the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments in emerging markets where the cryptocurrency exchange operates.
The two will explore opportunities to streamline treasury operations, enhance liquidity management, and enable faster and more cost-effective transfers, according to Yellow Card co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Maurice.
“Visa sells virtually to every bank in the world, so it opens up opportunities to work with the broader financial institutions that can benefit from the technology the most,” he said in an interview.
Founded in 2016, Yellow Card is looking to promote stablecoin in some 20 African countries it operates in, taking advantage of the ubiquitous Visa platforms to reach its target market.
“When you look at stablecoins, there’s a lot of excitement in the market and all the major payment companies are exploring ways to get into the space,” Maurice said.
Yellow Card plans to roll out stablecoin transactions with Visa in at least one African market this year and others thereafter, he said. The push is riding on improved adoption of the digital technology in Africa, where countries such as Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria are establishing regulations for the sector.
Kenya’s draft legislation, the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, is the most progressive in Africa as it differentiates stable and speculative assets, and recognizes various use cases, according to Edline Murungi, senior legal counsel at Yellow Card.
“Those use cases are going to really change the industry. And if other countries follow suit, then Kenya is going to be a hub for a lot of digital-asset activities,” Murungi said in a separate interview.
Mauritius was the first African nation to enact such laws in 2021, while Botswana issued the first license in 2022, according to Yellow Card. Six countries and the the Central African Economic and Monetary Community bloc already have legislation.
