Noah and Nafolo Launch Stablecoin Virtual Accounts to End Cross-Border Payment Friction in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Noah, a global payments infrastructure provider, and Nafolo, a leading West African financial super-application, today announced a strategic partnership to transform cross-border capital flows into Sub-Saharan Africa. By deploying stablecoin-powered virtual bank accounts, the collaboration allows users to bypass legacy banking infrastructure that has historically excluded the region from efficient global finance.
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region globally for receiving payments, with average costs approaching 9% and traditional SWIFT transfers taking up to seven business days. This partnership resolves these systemic issues by replacing traditional correspondent banking with programmatic blockchain rails, eliminating prohibitive fees and unpredictable settlement delays.
A Seamless Fiat-to-Stablecoin Engine
Through this integration, Noah acts as the backend engine, issuing named virtual EUR or USD bank accounts to African recipients. When an employer or sponsor sends a standard, low-cost domestic SEPA transfer, Noah’s infrastructure instantly converts the funds into US Dollar-pegged stablecoins (USDC or USDT).
These digital assets are then pushed to the Nafolo application for last-mile delivery. Users can choose to hold their balance in inflation-resistant digital dollars—protecting their purchasing power against local currency volatility—or instantly withdraw funds to local mobile money networks, virtual cards, or to pay utility bills.
