Flutterwave CEO thinks stablecoins are the future of Africa’s cross border transactions

Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, has stated that stablecoins present a significant upgrade to Africa’s cross-border payment infrastructure.

Agboola said this during two high-profile engagements at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam, alongside Dima Kats, Founder and Group Executive Chair of Clear Junction. The fireside chat titled” Building the Rails: Stablecoin Architecture from Lagos to London” looked at the role of stablecoins in moving money in and around Africa.

The Flutterwave CEO at the event argued that Stablecoins at Flutterwave is not a standalone product category but a faster settlement layer sitting directly on top of the company’s comprehensive, existing local and global payout infrastructure.

He also thinks that stablecoins come in handy for enterprises managing treasury across multiple African markets. For this group, stablecoins serve as a liquidity and FX management tool that continues to work when traditional banking rails are closed.

“Stablecoin is completely different because money moves at the speed of the internet, not at the speed of banks closing up their house. If you pay with stablecoin, you get that money instantly,” Agboola said.

Fintech Intermediaries Still Indispensable

Despite the great utility, stablecoins bring to the money movement conversation. Fintech intermediaries remain indispensable for various reasons. Agboola argued that, despite stablecoin transactions from wallet to wallet being straightforward. Factors like legal compliance, navigating anti-money laundering (AML) laws, and clearing last-mile payouts into local bank accounts across multiple jurisdictions are the complex problems that keep Flutterwave’s infrastructure indispensable.

“I’ve been in payments for about 20 years now, and the infrastructure that manages customer funds must be designed for shocks from day one; it doesn’t matter if the value comes from stablecoin or fiat. This is what we’ve prioritised, giving customers one wallet address that is chain-agnostic, supported by all the biggest blockchains, ensuring customer funds are not at risk,” Agboola said.

Flutterwave’s 10-Year Review and Outlook

Speaking live on Fintech. At the event, from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) broadcast center, TV’s Market Movers broadcast, Agboola used Flutterwave’s 10th anniversary to reflect on the company’s moves over the last decade while outlining plans for the coming one.

Agboola noted that the last decade was spent connecting Africa’s fragmented payment infrastructure through a single API; the next decade will focus on Flutterwave becoming the financial operating system for the continent. The unicorn recently achieved a major compliance goal, securing a Microfinance banking license in Nigeria.

Agboola noted that this development is a structural evolution from a “money in transit” provider to a foundational infrastructure player. He believes the deeper integration systematically reduces friction across the value chain, increases network reliability, and opens up entirely new verticals across the ecosystem.

Flutterwave continues to scale its robust network of global digital asset partnerships. Some of these ongoing partnerships include partnerships with Circle, Polygon, Fireblocks Flow, Nuvion, and Tempo. This collaborative ecosystem serves as the backbone of the company and is rapidly emerging as Africa’s largest regulated stablecoin infrastructure.

Last updated: June 10, 2026