Flutterwave Taps Polygon Labs to Unlock Real-Time Stablecoin Payments Across Africa

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has announced a major collaboration with Polygon Labs as the default blockchain network for its new border payments product.

The partnership marks a significant step in Flutterwave’s long-standing mission to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and borderless, and as well connect Africa to the world, and the world back to Africa.

Since its inception, Flutterwave has focused on simplifying payments across Africa, enabling businesses and individuals to send and receive money seamlessly across borders. With its new integration on Polygon’s blockchain architecture, the company is taking that mission to the next level by enabling the transfer of stablecoins such as USDC and USDT across its network.

This innovation is designed to address one of Africa’s biggest financial challenges—slow, expensive, and inefficient cross-border transactions. Millions of Africans move money daily to send money back home, or expand their businesses, but many still face delays, high fees, and outdated settlement systems.

Flutterwave’s move aims to eliminate these barriers and make real-time, low-cost transactions possible across borders. The recent partnership with Polygon, comes as the blockchain network cements its position as the go-to stack powering global payments, moving billions in assets, instantly.

Recent milestones include:

• Processing half of all USDC transfers in the $100–$1,000 range.
• Powering BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund tokenization through Securitize, which now exceeds $1 billion AUM.
• Supporting mainstream applications like Polymarket, which has surpassed $1.1 billion in volume and recently received a $2 billion investment from ICE.

Faster Settlements for Enterprises

Large enterprises and International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) have long struggled with settlement delays, often waiting two to three business days for transactions to clear. Through Flutterwave’s integration with Polygon, that wait is reduced to Instant real-time settlement. The result is improved liquidity, capital efficiency, and the ability for global organizations to scale into African markets without running into legacy payment bottlenecks.

Empowering Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs)

Thousands of African SMBs already rely on Flutterwave to receive payments. However, many face friction when paying international suppliers, dealing with long delays, intermediary banks, and the complexities of the SWIFT network.

With the new stablecoin payment rail, SMBs can receive global payments instantly, pay international suppliers without delays, and improve inventory turnover and supply chain efficiency. This means faster growth cycles, better cash flow, and greater access to global markets, giving African SMBs the modern financial infrastructure they deserve.

Stablecoins: The Next Financial Infrastructure for Emerging Markets

In the evolving landscape of global finance, Stablecoins stands out as a transformative force for emerging markets. Once seen merely as digital representations of the U.S. dollar, the digital assets are rapidly emerging as the next layer of financial infrastructure for economies long underserved by traditional banking systems.

For decades, emerging markets have struggled with fragmented payment systems, currency instability, and limited access to global liquidity. Cross-border payments remain slow, opaque, and expensive — often taking days to clear and costing up to 10% in fees.

Stablecoins are changing that equation. Built on blockchain rails, they enable instant, low-cost, borderless transactions, making it possible for individuals and businesses in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to send and receive money as easily as sending a text message.

Whether it’s USDC, USDT, or newer regional stablecoins, these digital assets are creating a parallel payment infrastructure — one that operates beyond the constraints of legacy systems.

Building Africa’s Financial Infrastructure for the Future

Flutterwave’s collaboration with Polygon Labs goes beyond technology integration, it represents a bold infrastructural leap tailored to Africa’s unique scale and complexity.

As Africa’s most-licensed non-bank financial institution, Flutterwave operates across more than 34 countries, providing compliant, secure, and reliable payment solutions. By leveraging stablecoins, Flutterwave is positioning itself at the forefront of next-generation payments infrastructure—one that bridges traditional finance with the decentralized future.

Stablecoins, once considered experimental, are now proving essential to Africa’s growing digital economy. Together, Flutterwave and Polygon are bringing this innovation to life, creating a payments ecosystem that works for everyone—from global enterprises to small businesses and everyday users.

The pilot phase of the Flutterwave–Polygon collaboration is scheduled to launch in 2025, focusing on select enterprise clients. The first rollout focuses on enterprise clients and multinationals like Uber and Audiomack, enabling them to move money faster and more efficiently across borders.

Subsequent phases will bring the same speed and affordability to millions of individuals using Flutterwave’s Send App, driving down remittance costs and increasing accessibility. A full rollout will follow in 2026, expanding access to businesses using Flutterwave for Business and consumers via the Send App across Africa and beyond.

Looking ahead

With this move, Flutterwave continues to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the emerging global payments economy. The company remains committed to empowering businesses, creators, and individuals, fueling Africa’s growth in the digital age. As Flutterwave puts it, this is only the beginning of a new era of borderless, instant, and inclusive financial connectivity for Africa.