Visa and Yellow Card partner to explore stablecoin innovation across Africa

Global Payments giant, Visa has partnered with Yellow Card to test stablecoin use cases in cross-border payments, treasury operations, and liquidity management across African markets. The collaboration is part of Visa’s expansion of its stablecoin settlement program in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region.

The partnership will use USD Coin (USDC), a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Circle, to process transactions on public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. Visa says it has already handled over $225 million in stablecoin volume since it launched its pilot in 2023. This new phase allows selected partners in CEMEA to settle transactions via blockchain instead of traditional bank rails, including during weekends and public holidays.

Yellow Card, which is licensed in more than 20 African countries, will help Visa test how stablecoins can be practically applied in real business settings. The firm runs crypto on-ramps and APIs across the continent, making it well positioned to experiment with cross-border payouts and dollar-denominated settlements in markets where local currencies are volatile or hard to exchange.

In many African countries, cross-border payments are slow and expensive, and accessing US dollars can be difficult. Stablecoins like USDC offer a potential workaround by allowing users to move dollar-equivalent value quickly and without going through correspondent banks. However, concerns remain around regulation, on/off-ramp costs, and the accessibility of crypto wallets for average users.

Visa’s stated goal is to integrate stablecoins into its existing infrastructure like Visa Direct, a product that supports real-time global transfers. In this case, the company is testing whether digital dollars can be used as settlement currency without undermining compliance or trust in its network. Godfrey Sullivan, Visa’s SVP for Product and Solutions in CEMEA, said the company believes every institution that moves money will soon need a stablecoin strategy.

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The partnership does not guarantee a full rollout, and Visa has not disclosed timelines, transaction volumes, or whether regulators in Yellow Card’s markets have approved the use of stablecoins for settlement.