Flutterwave has secured a strategic investment from Ripple, a leading provider of blockchain-based enterprise solutions for traditional and digital finance,as part of its Series E fundraising round, pushing the fintech firm’s valuation to $3.2 billion and strengthening its ambitions in the rapidly growing stablecoin payments market.
The deal marks a significant milestone for Flutterwave as it seeks to deepen the use of blockchain-based payment infrastructure across Africa and expand its role in facilitating faster and cheaper cross-border transactions.
The company said the investment will accelerate its long-term strategy of integrating stablecoin-powered settlement, remittance and liquidity services into its payments ecosystem, enabling businesses across Africa to transact more efficiently with global markets.
At the centre of the partnership is the planned integration of RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, into Flutterwave’s payment network. The initiative is expected to provide businesses with faster settlement times, enhanced liquidity and lower transaction costs, while reducing dependence on traditional cross-border payment channels that often involve delays and high foreign exchange charges.
Flutterwave said the move represents the culmination of a multi-year effort to build a stablecoin-enabled payments architecture capable of supporting growing demand for digital financial services across the continent.
The partnership will focus on three key areas. These include embedding RLUSD into Flutterwave’s payment rails and Send App remittance platform, leveraging the XRP Ledger (XRPL) to speed up transaction processing, and creating a unified application programming interface that connects Flutterwave’s domestic network with Ripple Payments’ global payments infrastructure.
Industry observers say the collaboration reflects increasing interest among financial technology firms in using stablecoins to address persistent inefficiencies in cross-border payments, particularly in emerging markets where access to foreign currency and payment liquidity can be constrained.
By combining traditional payment channels such as bank transfers, local cards and mobile wallets with blockchain-based settlement technology, the partnership aims to streamline international transactions and reduce the costs associated with moving money across borders.
According to Flutterwave, businesses using the platform will benefit from real-time settlement, more predictable pricing and improved access to liquidity, helping them manage international transactions more effectively.
Reece Merrick, managing director for the Middle East and Africa at Ripple, said the investment reflects confidence in Flutterwave’s growing role in Africa’s digital payments ecosystem.
“Flutterwave has built one of the most advanced payments networks in Africa, and as its infrastructure evolves, stablecoins are becoming central to that story,” Merrick said.
He noted that the partnership would help establish RLUSD within Flutterwave’s network while supporting the growth of stablecoin-based payment flows across the continent.
Merrick added that both companies intend to leverage Ripple Payments’ infrastructure to deliver faster and lower-cost cross-border payment services for businesses and consumers in Africa.
Olugbenga Agboola, founder and chief executive officer of Flutterwave, described the investment as a major step in the company’s growth journey and its efforts to modernise payment systems across the continent.
“This investment marks a pivotal moment in our journey, enabling us to significantly scale our infrastructure and expand our stablecoin-enabled payments roadmap,” Agboola said.
According to him, the partnership will help create what he described as a “payment superhighway” connecting African commerce more directly to the global economy through faster settlement and reduced transaction costs.
The latest funding comes as stablecoins gain increasing acceptance as tools for facilitating cross-border payments, remittances and international trade, particularly in markets facing foreign exchange constraints and high transaction costs.
Flutterwave believes the additional capital and deeper product integration will strengthen its ability to bridge traditional financial systems with emerging digital asset infrastructure.
Founded in 2016, the company has raised more than $500 million in funding and processed over one billion transactions valued at more than $50 billion. It says the partnership with Ripple will further expand opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as multinational businesses operating across African markets.
As competition intensifies in Africa’s fintech sector, the investment positions Flutterwave to strengthen its leadership in digital payments while advancing the adoption of blockchain-enabled financial services across the continent.
