Payment provider PayU is rolling out stablecoin payments to its 450,000 merchants in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. PayU is part of Amsterdam listed Prosus, which has a market capitalization of €130 billion ($152 billion) and is majority-owned by South Africa’s Naspers.
The payments firm will deploy Celo’s stablecoin cUSD and has invested in the governance token of Celo, the mobile first digital payment blockchain, in which Deutsche Telekom has also previously invested. To roll out the stablecoin payments, PayU partnered with First DAG, which provides an API for both Celo and Diem stablecoins.
“This aligns with PayU’s vision of a world without financial borders where everyone can prosper, and it has led the company to invest in CELO and purchase tokens, in addition to integrating the stablecoin offering for its customers,” said Mario Shiliashki, CEO of Global Payments Organisation at PayU. To date, PayU has invested more than $1 billion in fintechs.
PayU is targeting people in emerging markets who can use stablecoins to pay for groceries, subscription services and retail goods.
Meanwhile, First DAG’s solution aims to connect existing payment rails to Celo so that merchants can seamlessly accept stablecoin payments.
Both PayU and First DAG are joining the Celo Alliance for Prosperity. “This ecosystem built between First DAG, PayU, and Celo is the perfect example of how digital assets can deliver in practice on its promise to democratize access to money anywhere in the world,” said Chuck Kimble, Head of Celo Alliance for Prosperity.
