Onafriq, the pan-African payments network formerly known as MFS Africa, has partnered with Privy, a stablecoin infrastructure provider owned by Stripe, to explore how digital currencies backed by stable assets could speed up money movement between African markets.

The partnership, announced on Tuesday, will initially focus on two areas: moving stablecoins across different blockchain networks, and using them to support treasury and settlement processes, the back-end systems banks and payment companies use to manage and move money. Onafriq says the goal is to eventually offer these tools to banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators, and later to larger institutional clients, though only in markets where regulation permits it.

What problem does this solve?

Sending money across African borders today often passes through several intermediaries, correspondent banks, currency converters, and clearing systems, each adding time and cost. A transfer that should take minutes can sometimes take days to settle. Stablecoins, digital tokens designed to hold a steady value by being pegged to currencies like the US dollar, are increasingly being pitched by fintech companies as a way to cut out some of these steps and settle payments faster.

Onafriq’s network already connects over one billion mobile money wallets and 500 million bank accounts across 43 African countries, making it one of the continent’s largest payment infrastructure providers. Privy, for its part, says it powers wallet infrastructure for more than 2,000 businesses globally, including firms like Ramp and Deel, and processes billions of dollars in monthly transaction volume.

“Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management,” said Luke Kyohere, Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq, adding that the company intends to move carefully and “in line with regulatory frameworks” as demand for digital asset services grows.

Henri Stern, Co-Founder and CEO of Privy, said the partnership was about building infrastructure that is “secure, scalable and simple to implement,” arguing that real-world adoption of stablecoins depends on getting that foundation right.

What is the stakeholder advantage?

For banks and fintechs, the partnership could eventually offer an alternative rail for cross-border settlement, potentially reducing the time and cost of moving funds between African markets, if and when regulators sign off on its use in each country.

For mobile money operators, many of whom already work with Onafriq, the tie-up signals a possible future where stablecoin settlement sits alongside existing mobile money rails, rather than replacing them outright.

For ordinary consumers, any direct impact is still some way off. The current phase of the partnership is focused on backend infrastructure and institutional use cases, not consumer-facing products, so remittance costs or transfer speeds for individuals are unlikely to change immediately.

For regulators, the announcement adds to a growing list of African payment companies experimenting with stablecoin infrastructure, at a time when most African countries, Kenya included, do not yet have a clear, comprehensive regulatory framework specifically governing stablecoins or their use in payments.

Gains for the Kenyan fin-tech industry

Kenya has one of Africa’s most active digital payments ecosystems, anchored by mobile money platforms like M-Pesa, and has increasingly positioned itself as a hub for fintech innovation on the continent. At the same time, Kenyan regulators, including the Central Bank of Kenya, have historically taken a cautious stance on cryptocurrencies and related digital assets, with no dedicated stablecoin regulation currently in place.

That regulatory gap means partnerships like this one are, for now, more about laying groundwork than delivering immediate products. Whether and how stablecoin-based settlement services become available to Kenyan businesses will likely depend on how local regulators respond as the technology matures and as more payment companies like Onafriq test its use elsewhere on the continent.

The partnership is part of a broader pattern of traditional African payment networks exploring blockchain-based tools to modernise infrastructure that, in many markets, still relies on slower, more fragmented settlement processes.