African businesses have long faced delays when paying international suppliers. Goods sit at ports waiting for confirmation. Payments take days to settle. Currency shortages and high fees slow down growth. Flutterwave believes that changing how money moves across borders can unlock a new chapter for African trade.
The African payments technology company is launching stablecoin balances for its merchants and users across all its offerings. Through a collaboration with Nuvion and Turnkey, Flutterwave is rolling out a secure and verifiable stablecoin infrastructure designed to help businesses send and receive money faster, settle payments in real time and trade globally with fewer barriers.
The initiative positions stablecoins as a core part of Flutterwave’s long-term strategy. By embedding stablecoin balances alongside existing fiat options, the company aims to reduce friction in cross-border payments, strengthen remittance flows and give African businesses faster access to global markets.
Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola said payment delays continue to limit Africa’s participation in global trade.
“To truly connect Africa to the global economy, we must remove the friction that slows businesses down, like settlement delays that prevent suppliers from releasing goods on time.
Across the continent, importers need reliable rails that allow them to send money and have it delivered in real time so suppliers can confirm payment instantly and release goods without delay. Stablecoins make this possible. They enable African businesses to pay global suppliers faster, receive next-day value, accept stablecoin payments and earn foreign-currency revenue with far less friction. Remittances are also being turbocharged, unlocking faster and more dependable inflows into African economies.”
He went on to point out that at the core of all this is one critical element: a scalable, secure infrastructure layer.
“That is why we partnered with Turnkey, powered by Nuvion platform. This partnership gives us the wallet infrastructure needed to go to market at scale, enabling businesses on Flutterwave to accept stablecoins as easily as cards, bank transfers or mobile money, while supporting real-time settlement for global trade,” said Olugbenga.
Making Stablecoin Payments Practical for African Businesses
The stablecoin balances are being introduced through Flutterwave’s collaboration with Nuvion and Turnkey. Together, they provide a secure, flexible and verifiable wallet infrastructure that works across both fiat and blockchain-based payments.
For Flutterwave users, this means stablecoin payments will be embedded directly into the platform. Businesses will be able to hold, send and receive stablecoins without needing separate systems or technical expertise. Stablecoin balances will sit alongside existing USD, NGN and other currency balances, allowing users to choose the payment method that best fits their needs.
The solution is currently being tested with a select group of merchants to ensure performance and reliability. Once testing is completed, USDC and USDT balances will be made available to all Flutterwave customers who have completed the required KYC and onboarding processes. Following successful testing, all approved users will receive immediate access.
Flutterwave says this approach ensures businesses can accept regulated payment methods from customers anywhere in the world while benefiting from lower costs and faster settlement times.
“To accelerate business growth in Africa, we must make it safe, easy and affordable for businesses to accept all forms of regulated payment methods, including stablecoin, from a global customer base,” said Nkem Abuah, Lead, GEPP ROW, Remittances & Stablecoin Partnerships, Flutterwave.
“By enabling stablecoin balances powered by Turnkey, we are ensuring that multinationals, African enterprises and individuals using Flutterwave will have access to low-cost, faster and always-on cross-border payments with stablecoins,” Nkem added.
Building Secure Infrastructure for the Next Phase of Digital Payments
Turnkey provides the embedded wallet infrastructure that powers Flutterwave’s stablecoin offering. The company focuses on verifiable blockchain security, automation and scalability, which are critical for handling high-volume payment flows across borders.
Nuvion complements this by offering an AI-powered global banking and payment platform built on both fiat and stablecoin infrastructure. Together, the partners enable Flutterwave to offer a seamless wallet experience without compromising on security or compliance.
“Flutterwave has shown the transformative potential of stablecoins in helping people start and grow businesses globally,” said Bryce Ferguson, CEO and co-founder of Turnkey. “We share Flutterwave’s belief that stablecoins offer an incredibly efficient way to accelerate payments and put more money directly into the hands of business owners rather than intermediaries. Through Turnkey’s embedded wallet infrastructure, we’re proud to power Flutterwave’s stablecoin payments and support their mission to empower the next generation of African innovators.”
Turnkey’s technology is already used by a growing list of payments, DeFi, and trading companies including Polymarket, Axiom, Alchemy, World and Moonshot. Over the past year, Turnkey was named one of the 2025 CNBC World’s Top Fintech Companies and launched several new products, including Turnkey Verifiable Cloud and the world’s first verifiable wallets.
For Flutterwave, the partnership strengthens its goal of building Africa’s largest and most secure digital payments infrastructure. By enabling stablecoin transactions at scale, the company is creating faster settlement for global trade, smoother remittance flows and new ways for African businesses to earn and manage foreign currency.
As stablecoins become more central to global payments, Flutterwave’s move places African merchants in a stronger position to trade without borders, move money on time and compete on equal footing in the global economy.
