Visa, M-Pesa, and Onafriq have launched a stablecoin-backed payments pilot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the move isn’t about selling crypto to consumers.
The test is focused on cross-border mobile money transfers, with users on the front end still sending and receiving funds through their existing mobile wallets, like M-Pesa and Airtel Money. What’s different is what happens underneath: Visa and Onafriq are settling these transactions using digital dollars, specifically stablecoins, as the behind-the-scenes infrastructure layer.
That means the sender and recipient don’t interact with crypto directly. Instead, the system is using blockchain-based dollars to try to lower costs, cut settlement times, and reduce friction for cross-border transfers in a region where mobile money is already central to daily payments.
Onafriq has already worked with Visa in the DRC to connect card and mobile money rails, saying its network could bridge Visa with wallets including M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and Orange Money in the country.
For the partners, success isn’t about a token launch, it’s operational. If this model actually makes sending money across borders faster and cheaper, with the settlement process invisible to the user, that constitutes a meaningful breakthrough. Visa has tested stablecoin settlement in other markets, but this DRC pilot is a targeted experiment for a market where cross-border demand is both real and immediate.