Nigerian fintech Kredete has expanded its stablecoin and cross-border payments operations into South Africa after acquiring an entity that holds a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence from the country's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

The acquisition was completed through a Kredete subsidiary focused on stablecoin infrastructure and was structured as an all-share transaction, according to the company. It gives the fintech a regulated foothold in South Africa as it works to scale its digital asset-powered payment and remittance services.

Kredete said the South African licence will support its plans to offer stablecoin-powered remittance and payment services to individuals and businesses in the country. Stablecoin-based payment rails are typically positioned as a way to shorten settlement times and lower costs on cross-border transfers — a long-running pain point for diaspora remittances, where traditional corridors have often carried high fees and slow processing.

The move comes as South Africa develops a more formal regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and digital asset businesses, making it one of the more established markets for crypto-related financial services in Africa. Under that framework, a CASP licence is the authorisation required to operate regulated crypto asset services in the country, which is why securing one locally matters for firms planning to serve South African users.

Expansion builds on $22 million funding round

The South African expansion comes about a year after Kredete raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by AfricInvest, with participation from Partech and Polymorphic Capital. At the time, the company said the funding would support its expansion into Canada, the UK and other European markets, while also helping it scale its stablecoin-powered remittance infrastructure and financial products for African immigrants.

Kredete has since positioned stablecoins as a core component of its cross-border payments infrastructure, allowing users and businesses to move and settle money across markets.

The company said its regulatory expansion is being pursued on a market-by-market basis. Its regulatory footprint also includes virtual asset service provider and payment service provider authorisations in Argentina, as well as an International Money Transfer Operator licence in Ghana. How quickly the South African translates into live services for consumers and businesses — and whether Kredete follows through on the Canada, UK and European expansion it flagged at the time of its Series A — will offer an early read on how that market-by-market playbook is executing.

Regulated infrastructure strategy

Tobi Adebowale, Head of Legal at Kredete, said the South African acquisition reflects the company's broader strategy of building regulated infrastructure around stablecoins.

"This acquisition reflects the depth of Kredete's belief in the potential of stablecoins as the future of finance in Africa and underscores our commitment to delivering faster and cheaper payments to our customers in South Africa," Adebowale said.

"It also demonstrates our dedication to providing secure and compliant financial infrastructure for the diaspora communities and businesses we serve, both in South Africa and everywhere else we operate."

A licence-by-licence approach has become a common operating model for payments firms working across multiple jurisdictions, where digital asset rules differ from market to market — a reality reflected in Kredete's own regulatory footprint spanning South Africa, Argentina and Ghana.

Kredete said the acquisition will allow it to extend its stablecoin-powered remittance and payment services to South African users while continuing to build infrastructure that connects diaspora communities with the markets they send money to.

Founded by Adeola Adedewe, Kredete operates a cross-border payments platform that enables consumers, businesses and financial institutions to move, convert and settle money internationally. The company said it now supports payments to more than 60 countries and has raised $24.75 million in total funding.