Grey targets Africa-China trade with direct yuan payments
As African businesses adopt cross-border virtual accounts and stablecoins for international transactions, startups are building the last mile into markets such as China, where directly settling supplier accounts could make their products hard to replace.
Grey, a fintech startup backed by Y Combinator, has introduced direct Chinese yuan payouts for its customers. This allows users to pay suppliers in China using balances in USD, EUR, GBP, or stablecoins. As African businesses increasingly use cross-border virtual accounts and stablecoins for trade, startups are focusing on delivering the final piece of the payment puzzle, such as settling supplier accounts in China.
In 2025, China was Nigeria's largest source of imports, making up 31.22% of the country's imports in Q4, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. By enabling direct payouts in Chinese yuan, Grey aims to simplify cross-border transactions and encourage more businesses to participate in global trade. The service is available to both business and personal Grey customers, and can be used for supplier payments or personal expenses such as education, travel, or retail purchases in China.
Grey's expansion into China-focused payments follows its launch of a business platform in February, which provides African startups and SMEs with access to USD corporate accounts, international payments, currency conversion, and stablecoin transactions.
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