African Fintech Cuts Cross-Border Fees to 1% With Agents

Small businesses across 15 African countries just got a faster, cheaper way to pay suppliers and employees internationally, and it's creating jobs in the process.

Accrue, a fintech company that already helps individuals send money home across Africa, just launched Accrue Business. The platform lets small and medium businesses hold digital dollars and euros, pay suppliers in multiple countries, and manage payroll using stablecoins, which are digital currencies pegged to traditional money like the US dollar.

What makes Accrue different is how it works. Instead of routing payments through banks and traditional processors, the company built a network of local agents who provide the cash on both ends of each transaction. When a business in Ghana sends money to Nigeria, a Ghanaian agent converts the local cedis into stablecoins, then a Nigerian agent receives those digital coins and pays out naira to the recipient.

This agent model keeps costs remarkably low. Businesses pay around 1% per transaction, and some US dollar payments cost just 0.5%. Traditional cross-border transfers in Africa often charge much more.

The timing couldn't be better. Africa's cross-border payments market processed $329 billion in 2025 and could hit $1 trillion by 2035. More businesses need reliable ways to move money across borders without losing chunks of it to fees.

The Ripple Effect

Accrue's approach does more than cut costs. It's creating meaningful income for people who need it most.

The company's agent network consists mostly of young adults aged 18 to 30 without formal employment. These agents earn upwards of $150 monthly by providing liquidity for transactions, and many recruit family members and friends as the network grows. For them, it's become a serious livelihood, and they have every incentive to process payments reliably since continued good performance means continued income.

The company extends credit lines to top-performing agents who've completed thousands of transactions, letting them handle larger payments without needing all the cash upfront. This credit gets repaid automatically as they process new transactions.

The model is working. Accrue's consumer product, Cashramp, nearly quadrupled its transaction volume between 2023 and 2024, then doubled again between 2024 and 2025. The company has processed between $70 million and $100 million total since launch.

Now Accrue Business is gaining traction. In just two months since its web platform launched, it's processing up to $700,000 monthly for small businesses and sole proprietors who've been underserved by traditional banks. Co-founder Clinton Mbah says these customers move money regularly across borders but don't need the complex services of large financial institutions.

By removing middlemen and trusting local agents, Accrue is proving that financial innovation can lower barriers for businesses while lifting up workers at the same time.