Key Takeaways:
- Credit Bank PLC and Anzens launched a pilot to slash cross-border payment fees to a flat 1.5%.
- Stablecoins now drive 43% of African crypto activity as users bypass slow SWIFT-based banking.
- Credit Bank and Yeshara will next test USDA as a payment option for tokenized assets by 2024.
Lowering Costs for International Remittances
Kenyan commercial bank Credit Bank PLC has entered into an exploratory partnership with Anzens, issuer of the USDA dollar-backed stablecoin, to test how regulated blockchain infrastructure could be integrated into the nation’s banking system. The initiative, subject to ongoing engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), could make Credit Bank one of the first licensed commercial banks in an emerging market to mint, redeem, and distribute a stablecoin directly through its services.
Under the proposed model, Credit Bank customers would be able to convert fiat currency into USDA and back, settling international payments at a flat 1.5% fee. Transactions would clear in minutes, with automatic conversion into local currency at the destination. Credit Bank would act as custodian of both Kenyan shillings and U.S. dollars, ensuring compliance while shielding users from the complexities of blockchain technology.
Anzens CEO Shantnoo Saxsena underscored the potential impact: “A business in Nairobi trading with suppliers in Mumbai or Dubai should not pay 8% in fees and wait a week for payment to clear. With Credit Bank, that same transaction settles in minutes at 1.5%. That is what infrastructure is supposed to do.”
Kenya’s cross-border payment flows are expanding rapidly. Diaspora remittances reached a record $5 billion in 2024, overtaking tea and horticulture as top foreign exchange earners. Yet SWIFT-based correspondent banking remains slow and expensive, often involving multiple intermediaries and settlement delays of up to five days. The World Bank estimates average remittance costs at 6.45%, rising to nearly 8% across sub-Saharan Africa.
This inefficiency has already driven the adoption of alternatives: Kenyans processed $3.3 billion in stablecoin transactions in the year ending June 2024, while stablecoins now account for 43% of crypto activity across Africa. However, regulated banking channels for fiat-to-stablecoin conversion remain scarce.
Credit Bank CEO Betty Korir said the partnership reflects the bank’s focus on competitiveness. “Stablecoins are not speculative assets in this context; they are settlement infrastructure,” Korir said. “By acting as custodian for USDA, we are embedding that capability inside a regulated banking relationship, where it belongs.”
The collaboration also extends into tokenized assets. Yeshara, operating under Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority sandbox, is working with Anzens and Credit Bank to enable USDA as a payment option for tokenized real estate and commodities.
Anzens is unique in owning both a regulated stablecoin and a global payments network. USDA is fully backed by U.S. dollars and treasuries, with custody through Bitgo Trust. Its network spans 80 countries and 41 currencies, sourcing liquidity through regulated institutions. The company is dual-licensed in Lithuania and Dubai, with compliance infrastructure covering know your customer (KYC), know your transaction (KYT), and institutional custody.
