Flutterwave secures Circle Ventures investment, launches USDC settlement
By Aboki Forex —
Nigerian fintech giant Flutterwave has secured a strategic investment from Circle Ventures and introduced support for USD Coin (USDC) settlement across its payments platform. The company’s founder and CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, announced the development in a blog post on Tuesday, July 7.
What the deal means for Flutterwave users
Agboola said the move comes as global demand for stablecoin-based payments continues to grow, with businesses seeking faster settlement, lower transaction costs and greater access to dollar liquidity for international commerce. This investment from Circle comes weeks after the company secured a strategic investment from payments infrastructure firm, Ripple, as part of its Series E round.
The fintech boss said the integration will allow businesses using the Flutterwave platform to accept local payments and settle transactions in USDC, one of the world’s largest regulated dollar-backed stablecoins. “By integrating USDC settlement directly into Flutterwave, businesses can collect payments locally and settle in USDC when it makes sense for their operations,” he wrote. “This reduces settlement delays, extends payments beyond traditional banking hours and provides additional flexibility for treasury management and cross-border transactions,” he added.
Gateway into African markets
Agboola said firms already operating with USDC will be able to use Flutterwave as a gateway into African markets through the new settlement option. “For businesses already building around USDC, Flutterwave becomes a direct gateway into African markets,” he said. “For businesses adopting RLUSD through our Ripple partnership, the same infrastructure delivers enterprise-grade settlement with a seamless customer experience,” he added. However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of Circle Ventures’ investment.
The Flutterwave CEO said the USDC integration forms part of a broader strategy to build a multi-rail payments infrastructure that combines traditional payment systems with blockchain-based settlement. Agboola noted that the next phase of digital payments will require infrastructure that enables African businesses to access global liquidity with greater speed, flexibility and reliability, adding that the investment from Circle Ventures will help expand the settlement options on Flutterwave. “The next decade will require infrastructure that connects African businesses to global liquidity with greater speed, flexibility and reliability,” he said. “Our strategic investment from Circle Ventures strengthens that vision by expanding the settlement options available on our platform,” he added.
What this means for the naira and Nigerian businesses
The announcement highlights the growing role of stablecoins in cross-border payments as fintech companies increasingly integrate blockchain-based settlement into existing financial infrastructure. For Nigerian businesses, the move could mean faster access to dollar liquidity and lower transaction costs for international trade, reducing reliance on traditional banking channels that often face delays and higher fees.