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By Chinenye Anuforo
Yellow Card, a licensed stablecoin infrastructure and payments provider, has pushed its total equity funding above $120 million following a fresh $40 million strategic investment as the company intensifies its expansion beyond Africa.
The latest funding round, announced on August 4, attracted investments from SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital and other strategic investors.
The new capital will support the expansion of Yellow Card’s Global USD Accounts, strengthen its stablecoin payment infrastructure and facilitate deeper expansion into Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, Group Vice President of Operations and Managing Director of Yellow Card Nigeria, Lasbery Oludimu, said the company’s growth strategy was focused on building the infrastructure, regulatory systems and partnerships required to operate sustainably across different markets.
“Our growth is not simply about entering more countries. We are building the infrastructure, regulatory footprint and partnerships required to connect businesses across markets reliably and compliantly. Africa remains central to that story, even as we expand globally,” she said.
Yellow Card currently operates across more than 50 markets, providing stablecoin payments, fiat settlement rails, wallet services and customised local stablecoin issuance.
Oludimu said the company had evolved from an Africa-focused business into a global stablecoin infrastructure and payments provider, driven by the growing use of stablecoins by businesses for international transactions.
According to her, businesses are increasingly adopting stablecoins as a practical tool for transferring funds, managing treasury operations and accessing international markets.
“Stablecoins are increasingly moving beyond being viewed simply as a crypto product. They are becoming practical infrastructure for businesses that need more efficient ways to move money, manage treasury and participate in global commerce,” she said.
Yellow Card’s Global USD Accounts are central to the strategy, providing businesses with dollar-denominated accounts connected to its wider stablecoin infrastructure.
The company said the accounts are already used by customers including Visa and Western Union.
The fresh funding is expected to enable Yellow Card to scale the product and further develop the payment rails connecting businesses across different markets.
The company has also built partnerships with major financial and payments companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Western Union, Thunes and MoneyGram.
The participation of Standard Chartered and Sony in the latest funding round highlights growing institutional interest in stablecoin infrastructure.
SC Ventures participated in the investment alongside Sony Innovation Fund and other investors, including Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Valar Ventures and Third Prime Ventures.
Oludimu said the involvement of established financial and technology institutions reflected a broader change in the way stablecoins are being viewed within the financial sector.
The latest investment brings Yellow Card’s total equity financing to more than $120 million and gives the company additional capital to pursue its international growth plans.
As Yellow Card expands into new markets, the company is also placing greater emphasis on regulatory compliance.
In June, it secured regulatory AML affiliation in Switzerland as a supervised financial intermediary through its wholly owned Swiss subsidiary.
According to the company, the Swiss entity will provide banking partners, institutional clients and corporate customers with a regulated point of contact for accessing its stablecoin infrastructure across Africa, the United States, Latin America and other emerging markets.
Oludimu said the Swiss development was part of a wider market-by-market regulatory expansion strategy.
“Switzerland is the latest step in a deliberate, market-by-market regulatory expansion strategy, not a one-off; more licenses and registrations are in progress,” she said.
Yellow Card said its regulatory portfolio includes what it described as the first VASP licence issued on the African continent.
It also holds a Crypto Asset Service Provider and Third-Party Payment Provider licence in South Africa, a CASP licence in Botswana and Money Services Business registration with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The company maintains regulatory registrations across several other jurisdictions, including the European Union.
Despite its expanding international footprint, Yellow Card said Africa remains a major part of its long-term strategy.
Oludimu said the continent’s challenges around cross-border payments, access to global currencies and international commerce presented opportunities for stablecoin infrastructure.
“Africa remains central to that story, even as we expand globally. We believe some of the biggest opportunities for stablecoins are in markets where businesses still face real challenges moving money, accessing global currencies, and participating efficiently in international commerce,” she said.
She said the company would continue developing infrastructure for African businesses while connecting them to a broader international payments network.
Oludimu also stressed the importance of governance and financial crime controls as the company expands.
Yellow Card has received seven nominations across five categories at the 2026 Morgans Governance, Risk Management and Compliance Financial Crime Awards in the Africa Edition, including the Organisational Excellence in Governance, Risk and Compliance category.
The company said its compliance framework covers customer verification, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls, sanctions screening, fraud prevention, transaction monitoring and anti-bribery measures.
Yellow Card was also named on Fortune’s inaugural Crypto Innovators list in June.
With operations in more than 50 markets, equity funding exceeding $120 million and partnerships spanning the global financial and payments ecosystem, Yellow Card is seeking to establish itself as a major infrastructure provider as stablecoins gain wider use in international payments.
“Our focus is on building that infrastructure responsibly and ensuring African businesses are part of this evolution,” Oludimu said.
