Tanzanian-founded fintech NALA is ramping up efforts to make cross-border payments faster and more efficient after securing up to $50 million in credit financing to scale its global payments infrastructure. The funding comes as businesses increasingly seek affordable and quicker ways to send and receive money across emerging markets, where payment delays and high transaction costs remain major challenges.
The financing is expected to help NALA improve liquidity, expand payment corridors and support businesses handling collections and payouts across Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. For many businesses operating across borders, moving money remains expensive and slow due to fragmented banking systems, foreign exchange costs and lengthy settlement periods.
The financing arrangement starts with an initial $25 million tranche from global private credit firm Liquidity and could increase to more than $50 million through Mars Growth Capital, a joint venture backed by Liquidity and Japan’s MUFG Bank, one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
The latest funding comes at a time when demand for compliant and faster payment systems continues to rise globally. Founder and chief executive Benjamin Fernandes said demand for global stablecoin payments infrastructure had accelerated significantly across the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia over the past year.
“I’m excited to announce that NALA has secured a $50M facility from LIQUIDITY and MUFG-backed Mars Growth Capital,” Fernandes said, adding that the company had seen increasing demand for faster and compliant payment systems.
Supporting Business Growth Through Faster Payments
NALA said the financing will help the company pre-fund transfers, expand into more payment corridors and support larger businesses using its systems for collections and payouts across different markets.
The deal is expected to strengthen NALA’s ability to support businesses that rely on fast international payments while reducing delays that often affect transactions into emerging economies. Industry players are increasingly exploring stablecoin-powered payment systems as a way to improve liquidity management and speed up settlements.
As the company grows, Fernandes said NALA has continued investing heavily in regulation, infrastructure and profitability. The fintech has secured 17 regulatory approvals and licences globally, making it “one of the most licensed fintechs at our stage,” while another licence was recently added.
NALA also says it remains in a strong financial position despite rapid expansion. Fernandes revealed that nearly 50 percent of the capital raised during the company’s $40 million Series A round in 2024 still remains in the bank, meaning the latest financing is intended to accelerate growth rather than stabilise operations.
“At some point our business was more than doubling every other quarter,” Fernandes said. “We grew faster than we could handle pre-funding for single-direction payments.”
The company said its consumer business reached 64 percent gross profit margins last month, while Rafiki, its business-to-business payments infrastructure platform, achieved 80 percent gross profit margins.
Expanding Payment Infrastructure Across Markets
Founded in 2017 as a remittance platform focused on Africans in the diaspora, NALA has gradually expanded beyond consumer transfers into enterprise payments through Rafiki, its B2B infrastructure business.
The company says its network now connects more than 249 banks and 26 mobile money services across 16 countries, helping businesses and consumers move money more efficiently across markets.
In recent months, NALA has deepened investment in stablecoin-powered payment rails aimed at reducing settlement delays and lowering the cost of moving money across borders. Earlier this year, the company announced partnerships designed to help businesses collect US dollars globally and settle instantly in local currencies through regulated payment systems.
Fernandes said NALA had also signed some of the world’s largest banks and remittance companies, including MoneyGram, which is already a live customer, while more partnerships are expected to be announced.
“This facility gives us the ability to continue scaling our global payments infrastructure with long-term alignment and flexibility as demand continues to grow,” Fernandes said.
Liquidity said the financing package was specifically designed around NALA’s payment flows and liquidity requirements rather than a traditional venture debt model.
“Our team structured a facility that accounts for Nala’s compliant stablecoin rails and rapid growth in emerging market corridors,” said Paul Brodie, global head of investments at Liquidity.
The deal also reflects a growing trend among fintech firms handling high payment volumes to turn to debt financing instead of raising fresh equity, allowing them to scale operations without diluting shareholders.
Looking ahead, Fernandes said NALA sees a major shift in how money will move globally.
“The next era of payments will be real-time, programmable and borderless,” he said, adding that the company has ambitious plans for growth and is “just getting started.”
