AFRICA – Chipper Cash, a fintech services provider, has integrated with the tbDEX protocol to power cross-border payments and decentralized identity use cases across Africa.
tbDEX is an open messaging protocol that connects liquidity seekers with providers and equips all participants with a common language for facilitating transactions.
Utilizing open-source protocols and common standards, it provides developers, enterprises, entrepreneurs, and governments with a universal language to facilitate transactions in a more inclusive, efficient, and trustworthy manner.
The protocol falls under TBD, one of four businesses at global financial services-focused technology firm Block.
Mike Brock, CEO of TBD, said that across Africa, the challenges of currency liquidity and access to global financial systems are palpable.
“For these reasons, we are laser-focused on building out the tbDEX ecosystem in Africa, which already includes Yellowcard, the largest and only licensed stablecoin on/off ramp on the African continent,” Mike said.
“Fast on the heels of our tbDEX SDK 1.0 release, adding Chipper Cash to our growing network will help to accelerate our work on global cross-border payments and decentralized identity.”
As one of the largest fintechs in Africa, Chipper Cash’s integration represents the onboarding of one of the continent’s largest virtual card issuers, with over 1.2 million cards issued.
Maijid Moujaled, President and Co-Founder of Chipper Cash, expressed enthusiasm about the potential of tbDEX to revolutionize remittance flows into Africa, stating, “Remittances are a lifeline for many African families, but the costs of sending money to the continent remain among the highest globally.”
“By plugging into an open protocol like tbDEX with numerous network participants, we believe we can, collectively as an industry, drive down these high costs and facilitate remittances in a more efficient, transparent, and compliant manner,” he added.
While the initial collaboration will focus on enabling faster and less expensive consumer remittances, the two companies will also explore ways to empower small businesses.
Chipper’s offerings for businesses already enable local and cross-border digital payments for underbanked SMEs across 40 different African countries, powering disbursements and collections from bank accounts, mobile money wallets, and Chipper wallets.
Furthermore, Chipper Cash will leverage tbDEX to unlock trusted, compliant transactions with verifiable credentials (VCs) and decentralized identifiers (DIDs) to accelerate consumer and small business onboarding and identity verification.
“Chipper is also excited to collaborate with TBD on the trust frameworks and innovative credential designs that underpin every financial transaction on tbDEX,” Moujaled said.
“The idea that we can have a standardized and streamlined way to verify our identity online can help make the world feel more inclusive.”
As TBD continues to expand its decentralized financial ecosystem across Africa, adding Chipper Cash to the tbDEX network marks a significant step forward in driving financial inclusion and enabling more efficient cross-border payments and identity solutions for individuals and businesses on the continent.
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