Fintech deepens global expansion after $40m strategic raise

Pan-African stablecoin infrastructure and payments provider Yellow Card is expanding its global operations after securing a $40 million strategic Series C funding round. This growth comes with an expanding regulatory footprint and strategic partnerships with major financial and payments companies.

Lasbery Oludimu, the Group Vice President of Operations and Managing Director for Yellow Card Nigeria, emphasized that the company's expansion is focused on building the necessary infrastructure, partnerships, and regulatory foundations to operate globally. She stated, "Our growth is not just about entering more countries. We are constructing the infrastructure, regulatory foundation, and partnerships needed to connect businesses across markets reliably and compliantly. Africa remains central to this story, even as we expand globally."

The recent funding will bolster Yellow Card's Global USD Accounts, an end-to-end dollar account for businesses, and enhance the stablecoin rails connecting its markets worldwide. The company is also bolstering its presence in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Yellow Card's growth has been driven by persistent foreign exchange volatility and dollar liquidity shortages in major African economies, leading businesses and financial institutions to adopt stablecoins like USDT and USDC for cross-border trade settlements and treasury protection. The company has already secured regulatory approvals in South Africa, obtaining a CASP license from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, and recently earned a regulatory Anti-Money Laundering affiliation in Switzerland as a supervised financial intermediary.

The strategic funding was led by Blockchain Capital and supported by SC Ventures (by Standard Chartered), Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, and other investors, bringing Yellow Card's total equity financing to over $120 million since its inception. Founded in 2016, Yellow Card initially launched as a Bitcoin exchange in Nigeria before transitioning into a B2B stablecoin payments and treasury management infrastructure for emerging markets.