Swiss approval opens new growth path for Yellow Card in Africa

Yellow Card has secured regulatory Anti-Money Laundering (AML) affiliation in Switzerland, a move expected to strengthen access to African emerging markets and expand the company’s global reach.

The approval enables Yellow Card’s Swiss subsidiary to operate as a supervised financial intermediary, providing a regulated platform for banks, institutional investors and corporate clients seeking to move capital into Nigeria and other high-growth economies through stablecoin-powered financial infrastructure.

According to the company, institutional and corporate clients can now access Yellow Card’s stablecoin infrastructure across its operating markets through a single supervised entity in Switzerland, backed by the group’s compliance framework and technology capabilities.

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Yellow Card, Chris Maurice, said the development reflects the growing role of stablecoins in global finance.

“Stablecoins have become critical infrastructure for global institutions, and compliant access to payment rails is a requirement for companies looking to utilise this technology. Our Swiss subsidiary gives them a regulated, supervised counterparty for accessing our global Stablecoin infrastructure in Switzerland and across the U.S., Africa, Latin America and other emerging markets,” he said.

Maurice noted that the company was building on an existing network that already operated at scale across multiple regions.

The Swiss approval adds to Yellow Card’s expanding portfolio of regulatory authorisations. The company said its operations were supported by various licences, registrations and strategic partnerships, including the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence issued in Africa.

General Counsel of Yellow Card, Craig Stoehr, described compliance as a critical pillar of the company’s business model.

“For our banking partners and international clients, the compliance framework is not a formality but a foundation. Switzerland holds financial intermediaries to one of the highest regulatory standards in the world, and our Swiss subsidiary was built to meet these standards,” Stoehr said.

He added that the Swiss regulatory framework, combined with Yellow Card’s licensed infrastructure across its global network, provided partners with both regulatory confidence and operational reach.

As part of its expansion strategy, Yellow Card is establishing a permanent presence in Lugano, located in Switzerland’s Canton of Ticino. The city has gained international recognition as a hub for blockchain innovation and digital assets, attracting businesses, developers and financial institutions active in the sector.

The Swiss subsidiary will be led by Olpha Bribech, a member of Yellow Card’s senior management team.

Yellow Card said it intended to deepen its engagement with Lugano’s blockchain ecosystem while expanding access to digital financial infrastructure across emerging markets.

The company currently operates in more than 50 emerging markets, offering services ranging from stablecoin payment infrastructure and fiat settlement solutions to wallet services and customised local stablecoin issuance.

Yellow Card has partnerships with Visa, Mastercard, Western Union, Thunes and MoneyGram, and has received backing from venture capital firms including Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Valar Ventures and Third Prime Ventures.