Swiss fintech Centi expands African presence with Yellow Card partnership

Switzerland-based fintech Centi has announced a partnership with the pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, Yellow Card. The partnership allows Centi’s users in the European country to send money into 20 African countries. 

The details 

• Announcing the development in a press release, Centi said the partnership will help it expand its African presence from eight countries to 20. 
• Users in Switzerland can convert their funds into crypto and store them in Centi-issued non-custodial wallets before sending money to supported African countries.
• Users can transfer funds directly from the wallet to recipients in supported countries, who receive the payment in their preferred local currency.
• On the back end, Centi’s integration with Yellow Card’s crypto-fiat onramp and offramp gateway helps it move the funds across borders seamlessly. 

Key quotes 

• Commenting on the value proposition for the partnership, Centi’s CEO, Bernhard Muller, said: 

“For too long, migrants have been forced to accept terrible exchange rates and hidden costs that take from their families. We are not just another remittance provider; we are here to disrupt a highly inefficient system, thus empowering senders to save.” 

• Yellow Card’s CEO, Chris Maurice said: 

“This partnership transforms remittances from Switzerland to Africa by eliminating hidden costs and high exchange rates. By integrating with Centi, we are expanding our footprint, enabling stablecoin-based transfers to Africa that are instant, transparent, and secure for millions of recipients across the continent.” 

Why this matters 

• More global payment companies are partnering with African crypto firms to simplify and expand cross-border remittances.
• Last year American crypto exchange Coinbase partnered with Yellow Card to allow its African users go from fiat to crypto and back seamlessly through its self-custodial wallet platform, Coinbase Wallet. 
• The partnership also allowed users to send and receive money across borders via stablecoins. 
• In 2023, Yellow Card joined forces with Jack Dorsey’s Block in a similar fashion to allow cross-border remittances into 16 African countries. 
• These partnerships around stablecoins help to circumvent the need for too many middlemen in settling cross-border transactions, contributing to reduced fees.