STABLECOINS | Circle Invests in Africa’s Leading Fintech, Flutterwave, to Expand USDC Settlement

African payments company, Flutterwave, has secured a strategic investment from Circle Ventures, the venture arm of USDC issuer, Circle Internet Group, as it expands its stablecoin infrastructure to support cross-border payments across Africa.

The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the investment.

The funding will support Flutterwave’s integration of USDC settlement into its payments platform allowing businesses to collect payments in local currencies while settling transactions in the dollar-backed stablecoin. The company said the move is intended to reduce settlement delays and costs while enabling near-instant payments outside traditional banking hours.

The investment builds on Flutterwave’s participation in the launch of the Circle Payments Network in 2025 and marks a deeper partnership between the two companies as demand for on-chain payment infrastructure grows.

Flutterwave said businesses using its platform will be able to access digital dollar liquidity without changing existing payment workflows, positioning stablecoins as an additional settlement layer rather than a replacement for traditional payment rails.

The company said it will continue operating within existing regulatory and compliance frameworks.

In a press release, the company said:

“We believe the future of payments will not be built on a single rail or a single asset. It will be built on infrastructure that intelligently brings the best rails together while giving businesses the freedom to choose what works best for them.”

Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola (GB), said:

“Stablecoins like USDC are no longer an experiment; they are becoming core financial infrastructure,” said GB, adding that the company aims to build payment infrastructure that allows businesses to move money “at the speed of the internet.”

The announcement comes weeks after Flutterwave disclosed a partnership with Ripple to integrate RLUSD into its payments infrastructure underscoring the company’s strategy of supporting multiple regulated stablecoins for enterprise payments.

Flutterwave said:

“Our strategic partnership with Ripple remains central to that strategy. RLUSD will serve as the default stablecoin across Flutterwave’s stablecoin products, supported by Ripple Payments and the XRP Ledger to power enterprise-grade settlement and cross-border money movement. 

Alongside RLUSD, we are expanding support for trusted stablecoins like USDC.

Many businesses already hold, settle or manage treasury operations in USDC. Supporting it allows those customers to connect seamlessly to Flutterwave while continuing to use the digital assets that best fit their operations.”

The latest backing from Circle Ventures highlights growing institutional interest in Africa’s cross-border payments market where stablecoins are increasingly being adopted to reduce costs, speed up settlements, and improve access to dollar-denominated liquidity for businesses operating across multiple markets.

Stay tuned to BitKE on stablecoin developments in Africa.

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