Flutterwave has secured a strategic investment from Circle Ventures—the venture arm of Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), issuer of USDC—to embed USDC settlement directly into the payment flows businesses already use on Flutterwave's platform. The partnership allows merchants to accept payments in local currencies while settling transactions in USDC.
This is very useful for merchants in the sense that they will be able to collect payments from their customers in local currency through bank transfers, cards, USSD, and mobile money, and settle them in USDC. The USDC settlement reduces delays and costs while enabling near-instant settlement outside normal banking hours. The infrastructure behind the network works within existing regulatory frameworks, so businesses don't need to overhaul their current payment systems
It's worth noting that Flutterwave had secured a similar partnership with Tempo, where it uses the payments-first Layer 1 blockchain as a settlement layer for stablecoin transactions. However, this Circle's partnership deepens a relationship that started with Flutterwave's participation in the launch of the Circle Payments Network in 2025. Notably, global stablecoin circulation has now surpassed $300 billion, with Africa one of the fastest-growing adoption markets.
This partnership also comes right after Ripple took an undisclosed stake in Flutterwave at over $3 billion valuation as part of its Series E, with a plan to embed its own stablecoin RLUSD into Flutterwave's rails. So Flutterwave is now playing both sides—RLUSD (Ripple) and USDC (Circle)—as competing stablecoin backers. The partnership with Tempo adds a second blockchain option alongside Flutterwave's existing Polygon rail, supporting wallet-to-wallet USDC and USDT transfers and aligning with ISO 20022 banking standards.
However, Tempo and Polygon relationships with Flutterwave are partnership not investment like the Ripple and Circle relationships. Ripple gets a stake in the company itself, plus a product partnership while Circle Ventures invests in Flutterwave to deepen USDC integration to further build on Flutterwave's earlier role in the Circle Payments Network (2025).
Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, Flutterwave's founder and CEO, said the Circle Ventures backing is about "backing the rails that will power the next era of global money movement from Africa," adding that stablecoins like USDC are becoming core financial infrastructure, and that this positions Flutterwave as "the default stablecoin gateway for the continent."
Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has processed more than 1 billion transactions worth over $50 billion and operates in 34 African countries, with customers including Uber, Air Peace, Bamboo and PiggyVest. It's worth noting that both Flutterwave and Circle did not disclose the financial terms of the investment.
