Ripple partners with Onafriq to power digital asset-enabled cross-border payments between Africa and the rest of the world

Partnership will enhance speed and efficiency of payments between the Middle East, the UK, Australia and Africa

LONDON & JOHANNESBURG & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ripple, the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, and leading payments fintech Onafriq, previously MFS Africa, announced today that they are partnering to facilitate digital asset-enabled cross-border payments between Africa and several new markets, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the UK and Australia.

Onafriq is utilising Ripple Payments, Ripple’s crypto-enabled payments technology, to open up three new payments corridors between Africa and the rest of the world. Customers of PayAngel in the UK, Pyypl in the GCC, and Zazi Transfer in Australia are now able to make speedy and cost-effective remittance and business payments to recipients in 27 countries across Onafriq’s pan-African network¹.

Using Ripple’s crypto technology, Onafriq is eliminating the traditional problems associated with cross-border payments such as lengthy transfer times, unreliability and excessive cost. In this way the partnership is bringing faster, more efficient, and cost-effective international money transfers to Africa, and is set to accelerate financial inclusion across the continent.

“For a number of years, Ripple has supported crypto-enabled, cross-border payments to individuals and businesses, and we are particularly excited to expand the reach of our solution into Africa thanks to our Onafriq partnership,” said Aaron Sears, SVP, Global Customer Success at Ripple. “Connecting our partners PayAngel, Pyppl and Zazi Transfer with Onafriq over Ripple Payments will bring the benefits of faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments to individuals seeking to send money into Africa from around the globe.”

Onafriq has the largest mobile money movement footprint across Africa at a time when mobile money is a significant driver of financial inclusion and has revolutionized access to financial services across the continent. ​​The fintech’s payment hub connects over 500 million mobile wallets across 40 African countries, and operates across more than 1300 payment corridors on the continent, underpinning regional payment interoperability and seamless cross-border payments.

The announcement is being made as Dare Okoudjou, Founder & CEO of Onafriq, is set to appear at Swell Global 2023, the seventh edition of Ripple’s annual customer conference, which this year takes place in Dubai.

Dare Okoudjou, Founder & CEO at Onafriq, said: “Our mission is to make borders matter less when it comes to payment within, to, and from Africa. We are advancing this mission through our partnership with Ripple, which is already enabling new types of connections with fintechs such as PayAngel, Pyppl and Zazi Transfer. These connections are set to enable fast, secure and low-cost remittances at scale between Africa and the rest of the world, and represent a bold first step for our crypto strategy to leverage blockchain technologies to amplify our impact on people and businesses on the continent.”

Best known for its flagship payments products, Ripple was the first company to address the multi-trillion dollar pain points in cross-border payments by utilizing blockchain and cryptocurrency. The company focused on solving the hardest problems – such as building blockchain-enabled payments infrastructure from the ground up – before expanding its product offerings to address new areas such as liquidity management and tokenization, including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Today, Ripple serves hundreds of customers in over 55 countries and 6 continents with payout capabilities in more than 70 markets.

Additional Partner Quotes:

Jones Amegbor, CEO at PayAngel, said: “Our partnership with Ripple and Onafriq aims to address the long-standing challenges associated with cross-border remittances into Africa. By leveraging Ripple’s blockchain technology, our innovative payment platform and Onafriq’s extensive reach across Africa, the collaboration aims to unlock new possibilities for economic growth and financial inclusion.”

Antti Arponen, CEO at Pyypl, said: “The success of the GCC in drawing in people from all over the world to live and work here has made it a hub for remittance payments. So we are really pleased that our ever-increasing number of customers seeking to send money to Africa will greatly benefit from our new connection with Onafriq, which will allow them to send remittances quickly and cost-effectively to the continent.”

Hidayat Olanrewaju, CEO at Zazi Transfer, said: “With the global remittance market continuing to expand, it is increasingly important to look at ways to enhance the speed and efficiency of cross-border transactions. Traditional remittance channels often suffer from high fees, lengthy settlement times, and limited accessibility, which can hold back individuals relying on these transfers. By utilising Ripple’s blockchain technology, our partnership with Onafriq aims to address these pain points and streamline remittances between Australia and Africa.”

About Ripple

Ripple is the leader in enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, transforming how the world moves, manages, tokenizes and stores value. Ripple’s business solutions are faster, more transparent, and more cost effective - solving inefficiencies that have long defined the status quo. And together with partners and the larger developer community, we identify use cases where crypto technology will inspire new business models and create opportunity for more people. With every solution, we’re realizing a more sustainable global economy and planet - increasing access to inclusive and scalable financial systems while leveraging carbon neutral blockchain technology and a green digital asset, XRP. This is how we deliver on our mission to build crypto solutions for a world without economic borders.

About Onafriq

Onafriq is an omnichannel network of networks, making borders matter less by providing our partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions. With a network spanning 40 African markets, Onafriq connects over 500 million mobile money wallets, 200 million bank accounts, and 300,000 agents in Nigeria, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agent banking, and treasury services. By connecting global and regional enterprises, mobile network operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintechs, global development organisations, and online and offline merchants, supported by world-class regulatory and compliance capabilities and a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China, Onafriq is ushering in a new era of access for people across the African continent and beyond.

About PayAngel

PayAngel is a revolutionary financial service addressing the challenges faced by Africans living abroad. Unlike traditional payment services with high fees and slow transfers, PayAngel offers a pioneering, zero-fee and borderless solution that eliminates intermediaries, ensuring transparent and accountable transactions.

This innovative approach caters to the African diaspora in the UK, Canada, and Australia, facilitating easy transfers for family support, payments for goods and services; and, with a unique and value-added service in the form of embedded life/funeral insurance and robust security measures, PayAngel provides an added layer of protection. In short, PayAngel empowers Africans in the diaspora to send back home cost-effectively, conveniently, and securely, contributing to the economic growth of Africa.

About Pyypl

Pyypl is one of the fastest growing fintechs in MEA, with an industry-leading management team with unrivalled experience in the region. Powered by its proprietary technology, unlocking breakthrough consumer capabilities and sustainable growth, Pyypl is now operational in multiple markets across Africa and the GCC. Pyypl enables cross border transfers to 80 countries through its international remittances as well as user-to-user transfers. Pyypl also provides internationally accepted virtual and physical prepaid cards that have transacted at over 30,000 merchants across over 150 countries and over 100 currencies.

Pyypl is succeeding in its mission to be the leading one-stop fintech ecosystem for consumers, seamlessly and across borders. Pyypl’s purpose-driven approach offers transformational financial services to 850 million financially underserved smartphone users across Africa and the Middle East in a single app.

About Zazi Transfer

Zazi Transfer is an Australian online international money transfer and cross-border payments company headquartered in Sydney. Zazi Transfer Pty Ltd currently provides money transfer services to Africa and the rest of the world instantly and for free. Zazi Transfer Payment’s infrastructure is optimized for shorter settlement windows and immediate funds receipt in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Zazi Transfer facilitates cross border payments at a competitive and bank beating rate.We have a strategic business plan that puts the company in a position to be a pace setter in the cross border remittance sector, competing distinctly and successfully, satisfying customers, able to evolve and achieving enviable business performance.

¹ Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Ian Burge
Press@ripple.com