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Lumepay, a South African cross-border payments provider targeting SMEs, corporates and institutions, has secured a $6 million pre-Seed round backed by founder-led angels and South African FinTech investors.
The round closed at the start of 2026, alongside approximately $10 million in capital float secured to anchor liquidity for clients. The company is now laying the groundwork for a Series A.
The pre-Seed round was raised from founder-led angels and South African FinTech investors. Specific investor names were not disclosed.
“The future of cross-border payments isn’t traditional finance or stablecoins; it’s a combination of both, backed by the FX depth to make them work for real businesses. Everything we design, build and operationalise is centred on one mission: to be the end-to-end solution African businesses trust to move money across borders reliably, at competitive pricing and with the service standards business clients expect,” said Harry Huang, Chief Executive Officer, Lumepay.
Led by Harry Huang, Lumepay builds institutional-grade cross-border payment infrastructure for African businesses.
In April 2026, the company launched Lumetrade, a premium digital asset and stablecoin trading venue. Its broader payments platform launched in June 2026.
In South Africa, Lumepay works with Nedbank as its third-party payment provider sponsoring bank for domestic ZAR merchant collections and disbursements. Its digital asset arm, Lume Trade, holds a Category I FSP licence and works with Standard Bank for ZAR deposits and withdrawals for institutional clients.
“In the months since the raise, we’ve turned plans into working products: diversified and reliable liquidity; a platform that handles cross-border payments end to end; a growing network of partners and payment rails; and regulatory clearance in South Africa and Kenya. The capital has given us the freedom to build, scale and execute on our vision, corridor by corridor, so that moving money across Africa becomes as simple as moving it in developed markets,” said Luc Varejes, Chief Operating Officer, Lumepay.
The pre-Seed capital was used to build Lumepay’s core infrastructure, including compliant payment rails, banking partnerships, licensing across African jurisdictions, enterprise-grade security and its technology and wallet infrastructure. The $10 million capital float secured alongside the round is being used to anchor deep liquidity for clients.
Lumepay and Lumetrade currently live across the XOF (West African CFA franc zone), XAF (Central African CFA franc zone), Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Kenya markets. The platform has attracted 6,000 businesses and individuals since launch.
In October 2026, Lumepay received regulatory clearance from the Central Bank of Kenya and launched its payments solution in the country. Businesses in Kenya can now pay international suppliers in Chinese yuan, US dollars, Indian rupees and other currencies, and move money across intra-African trade corridors.
The company is now focused on expanding its regulatory footprint across Southern, West and Central Africa, with Malawi, Mozambique and the CFA franc regions among its next priorities.
“Banks are rigorous about who they work with, and they should be. Working with Nedbank and Standard Bank across our two businesses reflects the compliance standards we have built from day one. Reliable banking access is what allows institutional clients to trade and move money with confidence,” said Tatenda Nhemachena, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Lumepay.
