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Fintech
LemFi taps BVNK to build stablecoin-based remittance settlement
Since 2025, you’ve probably heard a lot about stablecoins, and by now you’re probably tired of them. But what exactly is a stablecoin, and why are fintechs suddenly so gung-ho about using them to move money across borders?
When you send money from London to Lagos on LemFi, the remittance app that some migrants use, you probably imagine it moving directly from one bank account to another. It doesn’t. Behind the scenes, that transfer often passes through several correspondent banks, each taking time, charging fees, and settling balances before the money reaches its destination.
LemFi wants to change that.
What’s happening? LemFi, the Nigerian-founded London-headquartered remittance fintech that said it serves over 2 million customers across the United Kingdom (UK), Europe, North America, and Australia, has partnered with BVNK, a stablecoin payments infrastructure company, to move its cross-border settlement onto stablecoin rails. Customers will continue sending pounds or dollars, while recipients still receive naira, shillings, or cedis. The only difference is what happens behind the scenes.
Explain like I’m new here: Sending money across borders involves two separate jobs. The first is moving money for customers. The second is settling balances between the financial institutions involved. That settlement layer still relies heavily on correspondent banking networks and the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a global remittance network, which can take days to complete because payments pass through multiple intermediary banks.
LemFi’s new system uses stablecoins to settle those balances almost instantly before paying recipients in local currency. Customers never hold or interact with crypto; it simply replaces part of the plumbing underneath the transaction.
Why this matters: World Bank data shows that sending remittances cost an average of 6.36% globally in 2025. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the average was even higher at 8.78%—almost three times the United Nations’ (UN) target of 3%. Every extra intermediary adds cost. Removing some of those steps means more money reaches families instead of payment processors.
Zoom out: This partnership builds on a strategy LemFi has been assembling over the past two years. In June 2025, it acquired UK-based credit startup Pillar to help immigrants build credit histories. In May 2026, stablecoin issuer Tether invested in the company to support stablecoin-powered remittances. Earlier this month, LemFi acquired investment platform Wealth8 to expand into wealth management. Remittances brought customers into the app. Credit, investing, and now stablecoin settlement suggest LemFi is building something much bigger than a money transfer service.
Getting paid in cedis just got easier for African businesses operating in Ghana.
Fincra now issues dedicated GHS virtual accounts to enable businesses to collect payments. See how Fincra GHS virtual accounts work.
M&A
Nedbank finally gets the keys to NCBA
Back in January, South African lender Nedbank said it wanted to buy a controlling stake in NCBA Group, one of East Africa’s largest banks. Six months later, shareholders have finally voted—and they were overwhelmingly in favour.
What’s happening? Shareholders representing 79.9% of NCBA’s issued shares accepted Nedbank’s offer, comfortably above the 66% stake the South African bank wanted to acquire. Since the offer was capped at 66%, investors who wanted to sell all their shares won’t be able to. Nedbank will still buy only 66%, leaving the remaining 34% trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Explain like I’m new here: Buying a bank from scratch in another country is expensive, slow, and packed with regulatory hurdles. Buying an existing bank gives you customers, branches, licences, staff, and market share overnight. That’s why banks often acquire rivals instead of building from the ground up.
State of play: For Nedbank, this deal isn’t really about Kenya alone. NCBA already operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, with digital banking operations in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. When it first announced the deal in January, Nedbank also said it wants to use NCBA as a launchpad into Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), two of Africa’s largest banking markets where it has little presence today.
Why this matters: African banking has entered another consolidation cycle. Building regional banks market by market is becoming less attractive than buying institutions that already have customers, licences, and infrastructure. Instead of spending years entering new countries one at a time, acquisitions let banks expand across borders in a single deal.
Zoom out: The regulators still need to give the final nod, but the hard part is largely over. If finalised by Q4 2026—as planned—the deal will create one of the biggest banking consolidations on the continent.
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Telecoms
Nigeria’s airtime lending battle ends with a split decision
If you’ve ever borrowed airtime because your balance hit zero, you might be surprised to learn that two Nigerian regulators have spent months arguing over who gets to oversee that service. A federal court has now settled the dispute.
What happened? On Monday, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled that while the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Nigeria’s consumer protection authority, can regulate consumer protection issues around digital lending, it cannot licence telecom companies or oversee airtime lending. That responsibility now belongs solely to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s telecom regulator.
The decision ends months of regulatory uncertainty that saw major telecom operators, including MTN and Airtel, temporarily suspend airtime lending in April.
Explain like I’m new here: Airtime lending lets you borrow call credit or data when you run out and repay it later. It has become a huge business in Nigeria, generating between ₦300 billion and ₦400 billion ($217 million–$290 million) annually. At the time, the FCCPC argued that these services qualified as digital lending and approved nine airtime and data lenders, including Fonyou Technologies and ERL Telecoms. The court did not revoke those approvals, but it ruled that licencing telecom services falls under the NCC. That means the FCCPC can still step in when consumers are treated unfairly, but it cannot decide who gets to operate airtime lending services.
What changes now? For consumers, very little. Airtime lending is expected to continue—already, Airtel and Globacom resumed the service in May; MTN joined a few weeks after, but companies now have clearer regulatory direction on whose rules they must follow. The NCC remains in charge of licencing telecom services, while the FCCPC focuses on protecting consumers from unfair business practices.
Zoom out: As fintech and telecom services continue to overlap, regulators are increasingly bumping into each other’s mandates. This ruling draws a clearer line between sector regulation and consumer protection, making it easier for companies to know which regulator they answer to while reducing the risk that regulatory disputes disrupt services used by millions of Nigerians.
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Telecoms
Kenya creates a new licence for telecom equipment distributors
If your business imports smartphones, routers, fibre equipment, or mobile network hardware into Kenya, there is now another form to fill before those products can enter the country.
What’s happening? Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA), the country’s telecoms regulator, has introduced a Communications Equipment Distributor (CED) licence. From now on, businesses importing or wholesaling communications equipment must obtain a CED licence before their products can be approved or cleared into Kenya. Existing Telecommunications Equipment Contractor (TEC) and Vendor Licence holders that also import equipment must switch to the new licence.
Explain like I’m new here: Kenya is separating who brings telecom equipment into the country from who installs or sells it. Previously, distributors operated under Kenya’s Unified Licencing Framework (ULF), introduced in 2016, where equipment contractors and vendors fell under broader licensing categories. Under the revised market structure gazetted in April 2026, Kenya is moving away from that decade-old framework by creating a standalone category for communications equipment distributors, separating importers and wholesale distributors from contractors and other telecom service providers.
Before a shipment can be approved, the regulator wants to know both that the equipment meets Kenya’s technical standards and that the company importing it is properly licenced.
Why now? Kenya’s telecom market has grown far beyond mobile phones. Companies are importing fibre equipment, Wi-Fi routers, enterprise networking hardware, base stations, and other communications devices at a much larger scale. By creating a separate distributor licence, the regulator gets a clearer picture of who is responsible for bringing regulated equipment into the country and can more easily enforce compliance when something goes wrong.
What changes for businesses? Getting the new licence won’t be cheap. Businesses will pay KES 250,000 ($1,900) upfront to obtain it, then an annual operating fee of 0.4% of gross turnover or KES 120,000 ($930), whichever is higher. The licence also becomes another requirement before communications equipment can move through TradeNet, Kenya’s customs platform. Businesses that ignore it risk paying fines of up to KES 1 million ($7,750), imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
Zoom out: Kenya’s telecom regulator is paying closer attention to the supply chains behind digital infrastructure. The focus is no longer just whether a device works safely, but also who imported it, distributed it, and can be held accountable if it doesn’t.
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CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$65,945 |
+ 0.52% |
+ 2.74% |
| Ether |
$1,856 |
– 0.35% |
+ 10.67% |
| DeXe |
$4.87 |
– 85.53% |
– 64.17% |
| Solana |
$77.51 |
+ 1.10% |
+ 4.86% |
* Data as of 06.45 AM WAT, July 22, 2026.
Opportunities
- Building an off-grid energy solution? All On is offering up to $1 million in blended finance through its Off-Grid Challenge 2026 to support innovative energy access projects. Applications close July 31, 2026. Apply here.
- Founders Fund Africa, the investment platform backed by Chocolate City Music Group, has opened applications for its 2026 Creative Economy Accelerator Programme. The programme is open to African startups building in music, film and media, design, and creative tech. Selected startups will receive between $20,000 and $50,000 in funding and support. Applications close on August 28, 2026. Apply here.
Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Zia Yusuf
Edited by: Emmanuel Nwosu & Ganiu Oloruntade
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