TBD Partners With Yellow Card To Enable Global Payments In 16 African Countries Via Bitcoin Rails

Developer platform TBD has announced a partnership with Yellow Card to provide international on and off platform for bitcoin and stablecoin payments in Africa.

Blog to be announced later ona Bitcoin-focused developer platform, has partnered with yellow card To open a network of official on and off ramps and payments via Bitcoin in 16 African countries. This aims to make cross-border payments and liquidity exchanges more accessible and affordable, providing compliant cross-border payments and legal ramps, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. Yellow Card will be a launch partner for the Web5 protocol and the tbDEX liquidity network.

Currently, cross border payments in Africa can incur fees of around 10% and take several days to clear using available systems. In March 2023, TBD and Yellow Card conducted a successful proof of concept for push bars from the US to Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, in real time. Senders can initiate transfers in US dollars, while recipients can receive the local fiat currency in bank accounts or mobile money wallets, such as M-PESA and MTN. TBD converts US dollars into Bitcoin or stablecoins and facilitates exchange between digital assets and local fiat currencies.

Alternatively, recipients can choose to hold their value in bitcoin or USD stablecoins, which are “particularly valuable if they live in areas affected by local currency volatility or hyperinflation,” the press release explains. The next goal of TBD is to create a decentralized identity, trust and transaction protocols that enable decentralized and trusted exchanges to be ubiquitous.

Yellow Card will be one of the first TBD partners to enable global payments and official ramps for end consumers to send USD or Bitcoin and receive payments in local fiat currencies. TBD provides APIs and developer services that make it easy for application developers to embed functionality that enables these transactions to occur in real time to end consumers. The partnership is part of Block’s vision to develop global ramps on and off, with the goal of enabling mainstream adoption of bitcoin in commercial and financial applications at scale.

“We are thrilled to be working with TBD and the Block team on tbDEX and our global payments initiative,” said Chris Morris, CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card. The innovative solutions we’re building together, and this is the culmination of the vision behind Block’s initial investment in Yellow Card in 2021.”

“We are focused on furthering Block’s goal of economic empowerment by breaking down barriers to financial access across the Global South,” commented Emily Chiu, TBD Co-Founder and COO. “For TBD, this starts with driving more affordable cross-border payments and commerce to bring us closer to a more efficient and inclusive global economy. Yellow Card’s combined passion and experience across the African continent makes them a partner with whom we are delighted to achieve this.”

Wallets, fintech applications, or liquidity platforms looking to connect with TBD are advised to contact Partners@tbd.email.