Lipaworld Aims to Revolutionize Payments for South Africa’s Informal Economy
The platform aims to provide a faster, more secure, and cheaper alternative to traditional banking and remittance systems, which often involve high fees and slow international transfers.
Financial technology company Lipaworld has launched a new service in South Africa to help freelancers and those in the informal economy manage their income using stablecoins. The platform aims to provide a faster, more secure, and cheaper alternative to traditional banking and remittance systems, which often involve high fees and slow international transfers.
Lipaworld, a partner of stablecoin issuer Circle, allows users to receive dollarised income in a virtual bank account. They can then send funds home using stablecoins like USDC or spend them within the Lipaworld marketplace for local products. The service is designed to bypass high fees and foreign exchange markups, offering a self-custodial wallet that operates similarly to a familiar money app.
Founder Jonathan Katende, who has a personal history of the difficulties in moving money across borders, emphasizes that the platform is not about speculative crypto but about offering real financial access to people who have been overlooked or underserved by traditional systems. He believes stablecoins are a regulated, reliable way for people to take control of their finances.
The service is particularly beneficial for South Africa’s informal sector, where freelancers can now get paid in minutes instead of days and immigrants can avoid exorbitant fees when sending money home. Lipaworld plans to expand its services to include credit offerings and merchant tools, with the ultimate goal of building a full financial ecosystem.
