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Velocity and CrissCross partner to develop stablecoin, real-time payment and virtual account products for Africa. Financial institutions and businesses will get a more direct way to move between onchain liquidity and the currencies and payment systems they use locally. Vigneshwar. Editor's note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa. London-based stablecoin payments and treasury platform Velocity and Africa-focused payments and FX infrastructure company CrissCross have announced a partnership. The collaboration aims to link global stablecoin liquidity with local financial infrastructure across African markets. The deal pairs Velocity's institutional network and stablecoin infrastructure with CrissCross' reach in local markets. Financial institutions and businesses will get a more direct way to move between onchain liquidity and the currencies and payment systems they use locally. "The opportunity is to connect global liquidity much more effectively with the infrastructure businesses rely on in each market. CrissCross has built strong local payments and FX capabilities across a region where stablecoins are already widely used. Combining that reach with Velocity's institutional network allows us to build more complete payment and treasury solutions for institutions moving money across these corridors," said Olann Kerrison, Chief Network Officer at Velocity. Founded by Eric Queathem, Velocity is a stablecoin payments and treasury platform built for chief financial officers and treasurers. It combines regulated stablecoins with traditional financial infrastructure so companies can move funds in real time, manage liquidity and simplify global settlement. It also helps finance teams reduce FX and liquidity friction, free up trapped capital and see their global cash flows more clearly. The partnership between Velocity and CrissCross expands their reach into over 30 African markets. It connects CrissCross's infrastructure with businesses and institutions that use stablecoins for payments and financial management. They plan to create new products involving stablecoins, real-time payment systems, and virtual accounts. Stablecoins are becoming increasingly important for cross-border payments in Africa, but institutions still rely on local currencies and payment systems. Previously, accessing global liquidity and local payment options often required different providers and complicated integrations. This partnership aims to streamline the process, allowing institutions to choose the best payment method for each part of a transaction, from global settlements to local payments. "Cross-border payments increasingly depend on being able to move between different forms of money and different payment systems without adding complexity for the customer. We have focused on building the local infrastructure and liquidity required to operate effectively across African markets. Partnering with Velocity extends that connectivity into a broader institutional stablecoin network, giving global financial institutions and enterprises a more direct route into the markets we serve," said James Cope, General Manager at CrissCross. CrissCross provides cross-border payments infrastructure and corporate treasury management for businesses operating in more than 30 African markets. The platform handles local collections, payouts and FX conversion through a single API. It has direct banking relationships in the markets it serves and deep in-country liquidity. CrissCross is licensed with FINTRAC as a Money Services Business in Canada. In South Africa it holds FSP, CASP and TOC licences, along with other regulatory approvals in its operating markets. Visited 14 times, 14 visit(s) today Join the Club Stay updated with the latest news and articles.

Thredd partners Velocity for stablecoin payments push. Thu, 24th Sep 2026 (Today) Thredd has partnered with Velocity to add stablecoin-powered money movement to its payments platform, extending it beyond card issuing and processing into blockchain-based settlement and transfers. Under the arrangement, Thredd clients will be able to convert between fiat currencies and supported stablecoins, send funds on-chain or through connected fiat payment rails, and use stablecoins for funding, payouts and settlement. The initial rollout will focus on business use cases, including stablecoin-backed card programmes, cross-border payouts, global treasury flows and on-chain settlement, with an early emphasis on B2B and B2B2B applications. Velocity will provide the underlying infrastructure, including programmable wallet infrastructure, links to blockchain and banking rails, liquidity and conversion functions, and the orchestration needed to support transfers and settlement. The partnership reflects a broader push by payments companies to connect traditional financial rails with digital assets designed to hold a stable value. Stablecoins have drawn increasing attention from financial services groups exploring faster cross-border transfers, round-the-clock settlement and alternatives to parts of the correspondent banking system. The new service is intended to sit within Thredd's existing platform rather than require clients to build a separate workflow for blockchain transactions. Thredd plans to connect stablecoin infrastructure with its existing ledger, application programming interfaces, issuer processing, card controls, fraud and risk services, reconciliation tools and operational support. Clients would therefore use a single commercial and technical entry point to manage how funds are held, moved and spent across card, fiat and stablecoin systems. For issuers and programme managers, this could reduce the amount of capital sitting idle across different markets and lower prefunding and collateral demands in some global card programme structures. It also points to a payments model less tied to banking cut-off times and intermediary chains in cross-border transactions. In practice, that could allow settlement funds to move across currencies and geographies outside the operating hours of conventional correspondent banking networks. Jim McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of Thredd, set out the company's view of the market shift. "Stablecoins are rapidly becoming an important part of global payments infrastructure, but clients should not have to rebuild their payments stack to take advantage of them," said Jim McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of Thredd. "By bringing stablecoin money movement into the Thredd platform, we can connect the issuing and processing capabilities our clients already rely on with new ways to move, convert and settle funds. It's about giving clients more flexibility while maintaining the controls, reliability and operational support they expect from Thredd," McCarthy added. Business focus Thredd is best known for issuer processing and card programme support for fintechs, digital banks and embedded finance providers. The expansion suggests it sees demand from clients that want to add stablecoin-based settlement or treasury functions without adopting a separate provider and operating model. The emphasis on business payments, treasury and settlement also indicates where the company expects adoption to emerge first. Consumer-facing crypto products have often seen more uneven demand, while treasury and cross-border business payments offer a clearer operational use case tied to settlement timing, liquidity management and foreign exchange processes. Velocity, meanwhile, focuses on stablecoin payments and treasury tools for finance teams. Its role in the partnership places it behind the scenes as the technology layer connecting wallets, liquidity, conversion and access to both blockchain and banking rails. Eric Queathem, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Velocity, described the commercial case for using stablecoins within existing payment systems. "The real opportunity with stablecoins isn't a new asset, it's a more programmable way for businesses to move and manage money globally," said Eric Queathem, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Velocity. "Thredd's platform is already trusted by some of the most sophisticated card programmes in the market, and this partnership gives those clients a practical way to use stablecoin rails inside an environment they already know. That's where stablecoins get powerful: not as a separate crypto product, but as infrastructure embedded in the systems businesses already use," Queathem added. Market rollout Commercial availability will be introduced market by market, based on regulatory, partner and product readiness. That phased approach underlines the fragmented regulatory position for stablecoins and digital asset-linked payment services across jurisdictions. Thredd serves more than 100 fintech, digital banking and embedded finance providers across more than 50 countries. It processes billions of transactions each year, giving it an installed base that could test whether stablecoin-linked settlement can move from specialist treasury operations into mainstream payment infrastructure. Velocity counts Visa, Capital One and Circle among its strategic investors, alongside Dragonfly and FirstMark Capital.