Blockchain Meets Mobile Money
Financial services giant Visa, mobile money platform M-Pesa, and pan-African payments network Onafriq have launched a pilot program using stablecoins to settle cross-border mobile transactions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to industry reports. The initiative marks the latest push by major financial players to test whether blockchain-powered digital assets can make international money transfers faster and cheaper across Africa.
For consumers using platforms like Safaricoms M-Pesa, the integration of stablecoins is intended to streamline back-end operations. If successful, the pilot could lead to quicker wallet top-ups, smoother international business transactions, and lower remittance costs, all while maintaining the familiar mobile money interface for everyday users.
The World Bank estimates that sending money across borders in Sub-Saharan Africa costs an average of nearly 8% of the transfer amount, making it the most expensive remittance corridor in the world. Traditional cross-border transfers that rely on the SWIFT network often take days and require multiple intermediary banks, each extracting a fee. Blockchain-based settlement can process transactions in minutes at a fraction of the cost.
The choice of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the pilot comes amid rapid growth in the country‘s mobile money adoption. It also aligns with Visa’s broader push into digital currencies; the payments firm partnered with African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card to explore stablecoin treasury operations and international settlements.
The move highlights an ongoing shift in regional financial plumbing as fintech operators increasingly build digital-dollar rails. However, it also presents a complex dynamic for local regulators. The Central Bank of Congo has actively sought to reduce the heavy dollarization of the DRC economy and boost the use of the local franc, whereas stablecoin solutions effectively embed a digital version of the U.S. dollar into the nations fast-growing mobile transaction network.