NALA, a pan-African payments startup operating in 18 countries, has partnered with UK-based payments infrastructure provider Noah to launch a cross-border settlement network for Africa and Asia. It will allow merchants in emerging markets to receive stablecoin payments and convert instantly to local currencies.
Building on the March 2024 debut of its B2B payments platform, Rafiki, NALA is deepening its stablecoin payment rails, aiming to speed up dollar flows into emerging markets where SMEs face delays and high costs moving money. The new network, integrated into Rafiki, will allow global firms operating in Africa and Asia to collect funds in US dollars and pay out local currencies within minutes, using stablecoins as a settlement layer.
Both companies are targeting inefficiencies in the traditional payments system, where remittances into Africa and Asia combined have exceeded $460 billion since 2022, yet average fees to Sub-Saharan Africa costs 8.16%, and many Asian corridors charge about 5%, translating into tens of billions of dollars in annual costs and tied‑up liquidity for households and businesses.
