Ripple taps Chipper Cash in Africa’s cross-border crypto race

Blockchain company Ripple has partnered with African fintech Chipper Cash to enable faster, blockchain-powered payments into Africa, the latest play in the intensifying race to fix cross-border payment inefficiencies in Africa.

Why it matters

Africa’s $53 billion remittance market is broken: fees remain high, settlement is slow and transparency is limited.

• The Ripple-Chipper partnership is the latest in a growing wave of integrations using blockchain to solve these issues.

The details

• Chipper will use Ripple payments, which leverages digital assets for near-instant, low-cost transfers, according to a joint statement.
• Ripple says this will allow Chipper’s users in nine African countries to receive payments globally, 24/7.
• The move follows Ripple’s November 2023 partnership with Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa), connecting 27 African countries to the UK, GCC and Australia via crypto rails.

Of note: Ripple Payments runs on the XRP Ledger, where users can send and receive multiple currencies. It’s unclear whether Chipper’s integration will use XRP, stablecoins, or both.

What they’re saying

“Our partnership with Chipper Cash marks a key milestone in the expansion of Ripple’s business in Africa. Consumers and businesses across the continent are increasingly recognizing the potential of blockchain technology,”
— Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Ripple,

Zoom in

Chipper isn’t new to crypto. It supports account funding with stablecoins like USDC and USDT across Ethereum, Solana, Base, and other chains.

• The company also uses stablecoins for treasury and settlement efficiency, according to Circle.
• Separately, Chipper offers dollar-denominated savings, virtual Visa cards, and U.S. stock investments. However, it’s unclear how much of that stack is powered by blockchain infrastructure.

Zoom out

Stablecoins are emerging as core infrastructure for payments in Africa and other emerging markets; they are no longer just a crypto experiment.

• Firms like Yellow Card ($3 billion in total payment volume, or TPV), Conduit ($10 billion) and Juicyway ($1.3 billion) are moving serious volume using stablecoins.