Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, has invested in CrissCross, an African cross-border payments infrastructure provider, with the deal executed through CrissCross's parent company, Stitch Group. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

CrissCross connects on-chain settlement infrastructure with local payment networks, allowing businesses and financial institutions to collect, convert, and transfer money across African markets. Its services include local collections, automated payouts, corporate treasury management, and real-time foreign exchange, all accessible through a single application programming interface (API).

The company operates in more than 30 markets, supports over 20 currencies, and reports 99.99% uptime. Its customers include multinational companies, financial institutions, and payment platforms.

James Cope, General Manager of CrissCross, said the investment recognized the need for infrastructure capable of addressing the complexity of Africa's cross-border payments market.

Brian Schultz, Circle's Vice President of Corporate Development and Ventures, said the investment would support the expansion of stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure across the continent.

The deal comes as stablecoins increasingly emerge as an alternative settlement mechanism for international payments, particularly in markets where currency volatility, limited foreign exchange liquidity, and reliance on correspondent banking networks can raise transaction costs and extend settlement times. Stablecoins such as USDC are digital tokens pegged to a reference currency—in this case, the US dollar—which makes it possible to settle a transfer on blockchain rails and then convert it into local currency for payout through domestic payment systems. By connecting digital asset settlement with existing local payment infrastructure, CrissCross is targeting a central challenge in African payments: moving money between currencies and financial systems without relying entirely on traditional banking intermediaries.

The investment also expands Circle's exposure to Africa's payments infrastructure market, where stablecoin adoption is increasingly shifting beyond cryptocurrency trading toward business payments, treasury operations, and cross-border transfers. Circle has been building out its African presence, including a prior investment in African fintech Flutterwave to expand USDC settlement, while its chief executive has said the company is targeting 40 new markets across Africa and other emerging regions. With financial terms undisclosed and expansion the stated aim on both sides, how the investment translates into closer integration between USDC settlement and CrissCross's local collection and payout networks is the detail to watch as Circle pursues that wider rollout.

Source: BitcoinKE