Circle taps African fintech Sasai to expand USDC adoption in cross-border payments

Circle is partnering with Sasai Fintech to expand the use of its USDC stablecoin across African payment corridors, targeting remittances, business transactions and mobile wallet services.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, collaboration will integrate the second-biggest stablecoin into Sasai’s existing payments infrastructure, which supports cross-border transfers, enterprise payments and consumer wallets, with the aim of reducing costs and settlement times.

Sasai operates across multiple African markets, providing digital payments services that will integrate with Circle’s onchain infrastructure.

The companies said they will explore practical applications for USDC (USDC) using Circle’s full-stack platform, as stablecoin usage grows in Africa alongside rising demand for cross-border payments and mobile-first financial services.

The United Nations has set a target of reducing average remittance transaction costs to less than 3% globally. However, costs remain high, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank. “Sierra Leone, Uganda, Angola, Botswana, and Zambia are among the economies with the highest transaction costs, all greater than 7% in 2023,” according to a World Bank June 2025 report.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company is focusing on high-growth payment corridors in emerging markets, while Cassava Technologies Chairman Strive Masiyiwa said the integration could expand access to digital financial services for businesses and consumers.

Data from DefiLlama shows USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization at around $78.6 billion, trailing only Tether’s USDT (USDT) at about $184.1 billion.

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The rise of crypto and stablecoins in Africa

Crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated sharply, up 52% in the 12 months through June 2025, with the region receiving more than $205 billion in onchain value, according to a Chainalysis report from September.

Nigeria accounted for over $92 billion of that activity, followed by South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana, with usage largely driven by remittances, cross-border payments and demand for hedging against currency volatility.

The growth is drawing increased interest from crypto companies expanding into the region. Earlier this month, Blockchain.com entered Ghana as part of its broader African push, following more than 700% growth in brokerage transaction volume in Nigeria since launching retail services there.

Regulators are also beginning to formalize the sector. In March, Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 crypto trading platforms to enter a regulatory sandbox under its newly adopted Virtual Asset Service Providers Act.

At the user level, both Bitcoin and stablecoins are gaining traction for everyday financial use. In January, former UN under-secretary-general Vera Songwe said remittances have become “more important than aid” in Africa, with stablecoins emerging as a faster, lower-cost alternative to traditional transfers.

Speaking on Natalie Brunell’s Coin Stories podcast in March, Africa Bitcoin Corporation executive chairman Stafford Masie said Bitcoin is used as money in some local economies.

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