Ripple has acquired an equity stake in African fintech leader Flutterwave, valuing the company at $3.3 billion, to accelerate the rollout of RLUSD-powered cross-border payments across the continent. The move integrates Ripple’s stablecoin infrastructure, the XRP Ledger, and its payments network into Flutterwave’s extensive ecosystem, which already spans 35 African countries and has processed over one billion transactions worth over $50 billion.
The deal—described as an equity investment rather than a purely commercial partnership by Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola—will allow businesses using Flutterwave to access faster, lower-cost settlements for international transfers. While Agboola declined to disclose the exact size or ownership percentage, the Series E round (reported at $3.2 billion by some outlets) provides fresh capital and a strategic shareholder to support the company’s stablecoin-enabled payments roadmap.
Central to the collaboration is the integration of RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, into Flutterwave’s payment rails and Send App remittance corridors. Additionally, the XRP Ledger will be used for transaction clearing, linked to Ripple Payments via a unified API to boost liquidity and reduce settlement delays common in traditional cross-border corridors.
Ripple’s Middle East and Africa Managing Director, Reece Merrick, emphasized that Flutterwave’s advanced infrastructure is an ideal foundation for stablecoin adoption. This investment fits into Ripple’s wider global strategy, following recent expansions of RLUSD and XRP Ledger use cases in Türkiye, Latin America, and AI-driven payment networks.
