Ripple Expands USD-Backed Stablecoin RLUSD to Africa Through New Partnerships
Ripple, a leading provider of digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions, is now making its enterprise-grade, USD-backed stablecoin Ripple USD (RLUSD) available in Africa via partnerships with Chipper Cash, VALR, and Yellow Card.
Launched in late 2024, RLUSD has rapidly gained global adoption, surpassing $700 million in market capitalization, highlighting strong demand for a compliance-first USD-backed stablecoin. Designed with trust, utility, and regulatory compliance at its core, the stablecoin leverages Ripple’s expertise in both crypto and traditional finance.
“RLUSD has quickly become established in enterprise financial use cases, from payments to tokenization to collateral in both crypto and traditional trading markets. We’re seeing demand for RLUSD from our customers and other key institutional players globally and are excited to now begin distribution in Africa through our local partners,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple.
“We also recently enabled RLUSD in Ripple Payments, extending the breadth of stablecoins available in our cross-border payments solution to better serve our customers in Africa and worldwide.”
Expanding Institutional Access Across Africa
Chipper Cash’s CEO, Ham Serunjogi, said: Chipper Cash’s CEO, Ham Serunjogi, said: “After establishing our partnership with Ripple earlier this year to support faster, cheaper, more efficient cross-border payments into Africa, we were keen to make RLUSD available to our clients as soon as possible. RLUSD is uniquely positioned to drive institutional use of blockchain technology across Africa and broader global markets, including through cross-border payments.”
VALR, Africa’s largest crypto exchange, stated: “The listing of RLUSD reflects our broader strategy to support trusted stablecoin options that serve the evolving needs of both institutional and retail clients seeking a reliable digital dollar for a growing range of use cases,” said Farzam Ehsani, Co-Founder and CEO of VALR.
Yellow Card’s CEO, Chris Maurice, added: “Offering a regulatory-compliant stablecoin like RLUSD is a natural step in our mission to deliver trusted, enterprise-grade solutions. Our customers demand access to stable digital assets that are useful for secure cross-border payments and treasury management.”
Use Cases for RLUSD
RLUSD is designed for a wide range of enterprise financial applications:
- Instant settlement of cross-border payments
- Liquidity access for remittance and treasury operations
- Integration with DeFi protocols
- Seamless on-ramping/off-ramping between fiat and crypto
- Collateralization for trading tokenized real-world assets such as commodities, securities, and treasuries
RLUSD in Humanitarian Initiatives
In Africa, RLUSD is already supporting extreme weather relief projects led by Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) in Kenya. One pilot uses the stablecoin as drought insurance for farmers, released via smart contracts when satellite data confirms a drought. Another project backs parametric rainfall insurance, providing rapid financial support during extreme rainfall events.
Global Reach
Ripple continues to expand RLUSD globally. Besides Africa, the stablecoin is available through platforms such as Bitso, Bitstamp, Bullish, CoinMENA, Independent Reserve, Gemini, Kraken, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold, ensuring wide accessibility for institutional and retail clients worldwide.
