African cross-border payments infrastructure provider CrissCross has secured an investment from Circle Ventures, the venture capital arm of Circle Internet Group, as it looks to expand stablecoin-powered payment services across African markets.
The investment was made through CrissCross’s parent company, Stitch Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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CrissCross connects on-chain settlement infrastructure with local payment networks allowing businesses and financial institutions to collect, convert, and transfer money across African markets.
Its services include local collections, automated payouts, corporate treasury management, and real-time foreign exchange, accessible through a single application programming interface (API).
The company operates in more than 30 markets, supports over 20 currencies, and reports 99.99% uptime. Its customers include multinational companies, financial institutions, and payment platforms.
James Cope, General Manager of CrissCross, said the investment recognised the need for infrastructure capable of addressing the complexity of Africa’s cross-border payments market.
Brian Schultz, Circle’s Vice President of Corporate Development and Ventures, said the investment would support the expansion of stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure across the continent.
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The investment comes as stablecoins increasingly emerge as an alternative settlement mechanism for international payments, particularly in markets where currency volatility, limited foreign exchange liquidity, and reliance on correspondent banking networks can increase transaction costs and settlement times.
By connecting digital asset settlement with existing local payment infrastructure, CrissCross is targeting a key challenge in African payments by moving money between currencies and financial systems without relying entirely on traditional banking intermediaries.
The investment also expands Circle’s exposure to Africa’s payments infrastructure market where stablecoin adoption is increasingly shifting beyond cryptocurrency trading towards business payments, treasury operations, and cross-border transfers.
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