The $31 billion payment giant aims to make international transactions faster and cheaper, starting with corporate clients like Uber before expanding to consumer remittances.
Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, has partnered with Polygon Labs to launch a blockchain-powered cross-border payment system designed to reduce transaction costs and settlement times across more than 30 African countries.
The collaboration will embed Polygon’s (POL) blockchain network as the technological backbone for Flutterwave’s new stablecoin-based payment infrastructure. According to the companies, this marks one of the largest real-world stablecoin deployments in emerging markets to date.
“Businesses in emerging economies process billions in cross-border payments annually, yet still face high costs and slow settlement times,” said Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave. “By partnering with Polygon, we’re introducing a solution that makes international payments even more simple and affordable than many local ones.”
Bringing Stablecoin Payments to African Businesses
The pilot phase will begin later this year, targeting multinational clients such as Uber and Audiomack, before expanding in 2026 through Flutterwave’s Send App to enable retail remittances.
Today, cross-border transactions in many African nations carry fees exceeding 8% and often take days to settle — a problem that limits liquidity and slows business growth. The integration of blockchain rails aims to cut those costs drastically while enabling instant, verifiable transfers.
“This partnership underscores how blockchain can provide tangible utility in developing economies,” said Marina Petrova, a payments strategist based in London. “It’s not about speculation anymore — it’s about solving real problems in global commerce.”
Stablecoins: The Backbone of the New Payment Rail
Stablecoins, digital assets pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, have become a $300 billion market, offering speed and transparency that traditional banks often lack. Flutterwave’s adoption of stablecoin payments could help businesses bypass legacy intermediaries, enhancing efficiency in one of the world’s fastest-growing financial regions.
With this move, Flutterwave joins global firms such as PayPal, Western Union, and Stripe, all of which are building blockchain-based payment infrastructures to modernize international money movement.
Flutterwave’s integration with Polygon signals a turning point for Africa’s fintech ecosystem — where blockchain meets real-world utility to reshape how money moves across borders.
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