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Velex Investments-backed Bitlipa launches instant stablecoin settlement across 18 African markets
The rollout aims to simplify cross-border commerce for businesses operating across Africa by improving settlement speed, liquidity visibility and payment efficiency
- PUBLISHED: Fri 7 Aug 2026, 3:10 PM
Bitlipa, a portfolio company of Dubai-based Velex Investments, has launched a new stablecoin-powered settlement infrastructure designed to cut cross-border payment times across Africa from days to seconds. The company said the Fast-Track Programmable Stablecoin Settlement system is now live and connects merchants to 18 African markets through a single application programming interface (API), linking 10 licensed payment service providers alongside a network of regional liquidity partners.
Businesses expanding into Africa have long dealt with fragmented payment infrastructure, multi-day settlement delays, unpredictable foreign exchange costs and the need to integrate separately with providers in each market. Bitlipa's new engine allows merchants to convert fiat balances into stablecoins such as USDT and USDC and settle funds across borders almost instantly through one dashboard, rather than relying on traditional banking rails.
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The platform also gives merchants real-time visibility into liquidity, collections and payouts, and routes transactions through a marketplace of liquidity providers to source competitive foreign exchange rates automatically. Bitlipa said the infrastructure targets sectors with high transaction volumes and cross-border exposure, including gaming platforms, e-commerce companies and software-as-a-service providers. "We are giving merchants the same speed and programmability that tech giants enjoy, but for the African continent," said Apollo Eric, founder and chief executive of Bitlipa.
The move comes as stablecoin-based settlement gains traction among payment infrastructure providers seeking to bypass the delays and volatility associated with conventional cross-border banking. Bitlipa said it aims to reduce operational overhead and improve cash flow predictability for merchants scaling into new African markets.