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Kredete, a cross-border payments company, has bought a South African company that holds a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence. The licence was issued by the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
The deal was paid for fully in shares and was done through a Kredete subsidiary set up to build stablecoin infrastructure. The price was not disclosed.
The purchase gives Kredete a licensed base in one of Africa’s key crypto markets. Stablecoin use in South Africa has grown fast. On the MoneyBadger payment network, rand-backed stablecoins went from 2% to 44% of crypto payment value in three years.
The FSCA had approved about 310 of 533 CASP licence applications by early 2026, which makes South Africa one of the most regulated digital asset markets on the continent.
“This acquisition reflects the depth of Kredete’s belief in the potential of stablecoins as the future of finance in Africa and underscores our commitment to delivering faster and cheaper payments to our customers in South Africa. It also demonstrates our dedication to providing secure and compliant financial infrastructure for the diaspora communities and businesses we serve, both in South Africa and everywhere else we operate,” says Tobi Adebowale, Head of Legal at Kredete.
Founded in 2022 by Adeola Adedewe, Kredete provides modern financial tools to individuals and businesses in emerging markets. The platform allows users to send, convert, hold, and settle money globally in real time, with transactions benefiting the sender’s credit score.
Kredete operates in over 60 countries, has raised $24.75 million in funding, serves more than 6.5 million users, and has processed over $18 billion in payments annually.
The new subsidiary adds to Kredete’s list of licences. The company already has VASP and PSP authorisations in Argentina and an IMTO licence in Ghana. Kredete says it gets licensed market by market instead of working around cross-border rules.
The announcement comes a few days after Kredete acquired Gravv, an agentic stablecoin infrastructure platform that connects banks, blockchain networks, and local payment rails for real-time global money movement.
