The Democratic Republic of the Congo trial targets mobile wallet top-ups, business transactions and remittances, where World Bank data puts average Sub-Saharan Africa transfer costs at nearly 8%.
Visa, M-Pesa and Onafriq have launched a pilot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that uses a dollar-pegged stablecoin for settling cross-border mobile transactions. The trial covers cross-border mobile wallet top-ups, international business transactions and remittances, testing whether stablecoin-based settlement can lower friction in corridors where moving money across borders remains expensive. The World Bank estimates cross-border remittance costs in Sub-Saharan Africa average nearly 8% of the transfer amount, underscoring the potential appeal of faster and cheaper digital settlement rails.