As Africa steadily embraces digital assets, Yellow Card, the continent’s largest licensed stablecoin on/off ramp, has introduced USD Coin (USDC), a digital stablecoin on the Stellar network, aiming to transform cross-border payments, remittances, and treasury management globally.
USDC is a digital currency backed by US dollar reserves, ensuring that each USDC token maintains a value closely pegged to one US dollar. In essence, USDC represents a tokenised version of the US dollar, providing users with stability and confidence in its value equivalence to the traditional fiat currency.
Yellow Card, renowned for its user-friendly platform and present across 20 African countries, seeks to enhance user experience by leveraging USDC on the Stellar network. The company will merge Stellar’s robust features, including low transaction fees and rapid transactions, with USDC’s stability, offering users a seamless, near-instant, and cost-effective solution for financial transactions.
The Stellar blockchain, designed for everyday financial products and services, boasts speed, scalability, and sustainability. Its primary focus is to optimise payments, ensuring low fees and faster transaction speeds.
Yellow Card’s CEO, Chris Maurice, has expressed enthusiasm for the integration, heralding it as a significant leap forward in global payments. He stated that Yellow Card was thrilled to bring USDC on Stellar to its users. “This is a giant leap forward for global payments, making it easier, faster, and more affordable for people around the world to access and utilise digital dollars.” Maurice added.
With Yellow Card-Stellar integration users have the ability to instantly send and receive digital dollars globally. This accessibility extends to users without traditional bank accounts, fostering financial inclusion across Africa.
Yellow Card also aims to lessen hidden charges with USDC on Stellar, thus addressing a major challenge in cross-border payments. Transferring USDC to other supported exchanges on the Stellar network will incur significantly lower fees compared to other blockchain networks, enhancing cost-efficiency for users.
To encourage adoption, Yellow Card plans to award $5 USDC to customers who send at least $3 USDC using the Stellar network on the app, facilitating users’ experience with fast transaction speeds.
Yellow Card’s introduction of USDC on the Stellar network marks a pivotal moment in Africa’s digital currency landscape, promising greater efficiency, affordability, and accessibility in cross-border transactions and remittances.
Source: APO Group
By Derrick Kafui Deti – Digital Economy Magazine
