For Victor Al, co-founder and chief executive of Raenest, the biggest challenge facing businesses operating across borders goes beyond sending and receiving money. The real difficulty, he argues, lies in managing different currencies, banking relationships and regulatory requirements without losing visibility or control over company finances.

Raenest, the fintech he co-founded, builds financial infrastructure that helps African businesses and remote workers get paid and manage money across borders.

For an African business selling to customers abroad, an international payment is rarely an isolated transaction. Incoming money may need to be converted into local currency, used to pay employees, sent to suppliers overseas, or held in a foreign currency for future expenses. Each step introduces another decision, cost or potential delay.

Businesses may also have to work with multiple financial providers, complete repeated verification processes and cope with uncertainty over when funds will actually arrive. These frictions become more significant as companies expand into new markets, hire international talent and depend on suppliers outside their home countries — yet access to reliable financial infrastructure has not always kept pace with how quickly businesses are becoming global. The gap matters because revenue earned abroad only becomes usable once it can be converted, moved and spent on time, which turns payment infrastructure into a day-to-day operational concern rather than a back-office detail.

From Receiving Payments to Managing Money

Speaking with Technext, Alade said the problem became clearer as Raenest grew from helping Africans receive payments from international clients to serving businesses with more complex financial needs.

“When you solve the initial problem of receiving money, the next questions appear: Where do I hold it? When should I convert it? How do I pay for the tools I use or send money to someone in another country?” he explained.

For businesses, those questions extend to managing suppliers, employees and several currencies at once. A company might receive dollars, pay salaries in naira and purchase services in pounds, while needing to know how much money it has available, what each transaction will cost and whether funds will arrive in time to meet its obligations. The difficulty, Alade argued, is not simply moving money — it is coordinating the financial activities that surround each payment.

Uncertainty Complicates Planning

Cross-border finance brings challenges that can complicate decision-making. Uncertainty over how long transactions will take, fluctuating exchange rates and the actual amount a recipient will receive can all hinder proper planning for expenses and cash flow management.

A late payment to a supplier can disrupt operations even when enough money is available to pay. Similarly, a company holding funds in one currency while owing expenses in another faces tough choices about when to convert that money and how much exchange-rate risk it can absorb. These issues become even more complicated when businesses operate in countries with varying banking systems and regulations.

Local Conditions Shape Financial Services

Raenest itself has expanded from Africa into markets such as the US, India and the Philippines. Alade emphasizes that financial services cannot simply be copied from one country to another; they must be tailored to local customs and conditions. Documentation requirements, preferred payment methods and currencies can differ significantly between markets, meaning what works seamlessly in one place may create friction in another. This highlights the importance of local expertise and strong banking partnerships for smooth cross-border operations.

For fintech companies, the challenge is clear: how to simplify international financial activities for customers while navigating these varied systems. As competition in cross-border payments grows, reliability is becoming crucial. Faster transfers and lower fees matter, but businesses also want providers that can adapt to regulatory shifts and unexpected issues.

When a company relies on a financial platform to pay employees or suppliers, any disruption can affect the entire operation. The ability to maintain service continuity and communicate effectively during problems has therefore become a key expectation from financial providers.

Stablecoins as a Rail, Not a Full Service

Stablecoins have emerged as another possible route for moving money internationally. Designed to maintain a relatively stable value against an underlying asset — often the US dollar — they can provide an alternative to some traditional payment routes, and their potential appeal is clear in markets where international transfers are slow, expensive or difficult to access. Unlike conventional international transfers, which often pass through chains of correspondent banks and their processing windows, stablecoin transfers settle on blockchain networks and can be sent at any hour.

However, using a stablecoin to move value is not the same as having a complete financial service. Customers still need secure ways to hold their assets, convert them into local currencies and make payments to people or businesses that may not accept digital assets directly. Liquidity, regulatory compliance and reliable local payout options also matter.

Alade believes stablecoins could become a more useful part of everyday financial activity, provided people can use them without having to understand the technology behind them.

“At Raenest, our philosophy on stablecoins simple: you should be able to do with stablecoins anything you can do with your US dollars or naira: receive, hold, send, spend and grow your money,” he said.

For a business, that could mean receiving an international payment and using the funds to settle a supplier’s invoice. For an individual, it could mean receiving earnings, holding money in dollars or converting it into local currency when needed. Whether stablecoins become mainstream, however, will depend on how reliably the surrounding services work. Businesses also need clear transaction records and reconciliation tools to keep their financial records accurate. The wider challenge is making new payment technologies useful within the financial activities people already carry out, rather than asking customers to navigate additional complexity.

Financial Needs Grow More Complex

As more African businesses expand internationally, their financial needs are becoming increasingly complicated. Beyond the basics of international money transfers and multi-currency accounts, these companies need better tools to manage cash flow, control employee spending, handle payroll and reconcile transactions efficiently.

Access to financing is also crucial, especially for businesses with a solid trading history that may struggle to secure working capital — an area where technology can play a role.

“The long-term challenge is to build financial services that remain dependable as businesses grow and markets change,” Alade said.

He envisions a future where African companies can seamlessly collect international revenue, pay suppliers and manage team expenses with fewer cumbersome processes. Individuals, too, should be able to receive payments, hold various currencies and build savings or investments without facing unnecessary hurdles. Better financial histories for customers could lead to more tailored services and improved access to financing options.

Infrastructure May Prove as Vital as the Product

The pressing question is whether financial infrastructure can adapt quickly enough to support these aspirations. African businesses can already connect with customers globally, but managing the financial side of international transactions remains tricky.

To succeed, businesses need more than faster payment systems; they need reliable connections between accounts, currencies, compliance and the daily financial decisions companies make. How providers stitch those pieces together — multi-currency accounts, stablecoin rails, compliance and local payout networks — while keeping service dependable will shape which platforms businesses trust with day-to-day operations. For African companies aiming to compete on the world stage, that infrastructure may soon prove just as vital as the technology or products they offer.