Firm targets cross-border payment challenges facing African businesses

For many African businesses, expanding into international markets comes with a major challenge: moving money across borders efficiently without incurring excessive costs, delays and administrative hurdles.

From Nigerian car dealers paying for vehicles purchased through United States auction platforms to logistics companies settling overseas partners and e-commerce operators collecting payments from international customers, managing multiple currencies and payment channels can complicate business operations.

VitalSwap, a financial technology company founded by Akinsola Jegede, is seeking to address these challenges by providing businesses with an integrated platform for collecting, exchanging, managing and transferring money across currencies and markets.

Jegede said the company’s approach was shaped by the financial difficulties businesses encountered when making international payments, including losses arising from high transfer costs.

“Cross-border payments shouldn’t feel like a penalty. When we saw businesses losing up to 20 per cent of their funds simply moving money across borders, we knew solving peer-to-peer transfers wasn’t enough. We had to build a complete financial engine that allows African businesses to operate globally without the traditional friction,” he said.

According to the company, VitalSwap initially focused on simplifying cross-border transfers from Nigeria before expanding into a broader financial infrastructure serving businesses with international payment needs.

The platform currently serves more than 30,000 users across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, with its infrastructure supporting transactions across more than 30 countries.

One of the business segments using the platform is Nigeria’s automobile import market, particularly dealers purchasing vehicles through United States auction platforms, including Copart and IAA.

For these dealers, paying for vehicles purchased abroad can involve navigating bank transfer limits, high international transaction fees and reliance on intermediaries.

Such challenges can affect the speed and cost of completing transactions, particularly when payments must be received within specified deadlines before vehicles can proceed to the next stage of the purchase process.

VitalSwap said its High-Value Transfer service provides an alternative for businesses making substantial international payments.

The service enables eligible businesses to make transfers ranging from $5,000 to $5 million per transaction from their registered business accounts, with payments made in the business’s name.

Beyond automobile dealers, the company said the service could support logistics operators paying overseas freight agents and shipping partners, as well as businesses involved in international procurement, settlements and remittances.

The company is also targeting businesses seeking to collect payments from customers outside Nigeria.

For e-commerce operators and other businesses selling across multiple markets, international payment requirements can create obstacles for customers attempting to complete purchases.

VitalSwap said its Payment Link feature allows businesses to receive payments through more than 10 payment methods, while companies operating their own websites or applications can integrate its Checkout service through an application programming interface (API).

The company said these services are designed to help businesses manage international collections alongside their other financial operations.

VitalSwap Business also combines wallets, currency management, settlements and transaction tracking within one platform, enabling businesses to manage different aspects of their payment activities in a single environment.

The approach reflects a growing need among businesses operating internationally to coordinate payments across several currencies, markets and channels without relying on multiple disconnected services.

For African businesses seeking customers, suppliers and partners beyond their domestic markets, the ability to receive and move money efficiently has become an important part of managing international operations.

VitalSwap is positioning its platform as a way to reduce the fragmentation associated with these transactions by bringing business payments and related financial processes together.

The company is inviting businesses to register for VitalSwap Business to access its payment and financial management services.