XRP News Today: Ripple Invests in Flutterwave as RLUSD Enters African Payments

Ripple has made a strategic investment in Flutterwave, the African payments company, as part of Flutterwave’s Series E fundraising round that values the company at $3.2 billion. The investment comes alongside a partnership that embeds RLUSD, Ripple Payments, and the XRP Ledger directly into Flutterwave’s existing payment infrastructure.

The financial terms of Ripple’s specific stake were not disclosed.

What the Integration Covers

The partnership connects three specific Ripple products to Flutterwave’s payment network. RLUSD will be embedded in Flutterwave’s payment rails for stablecoin-powered settlement. The XRP Ledger will handle faster clearing of cross-border transactions. Ripple Payments will bridge cross-border payment corridors across African markets.

Flutterwave confirmed its stablecoin infrastructure is now live commercially with select merchants and is being tested across parts of its Send App experience. The companies said the partnership could help businesses move money across borders faster and at lower cost.

Why Africa Is the Focus

Africa processes significant cross-border payment volume but faces persistent challenges including slow settlement, fragmented liquidity, and high transaction costs. Flutterwave has spent years building payment rails across African markets, connecting businesses to international payment systems and local financial infrastructure.

The company holds a Microfinance Banking Licence in Nigeria and acquired Mono, a financial data and identity infrastructure provider, as part of its broader strategy to control more of the financial stack rather than simply connecting to third-party systems.

What It Means for RLUSD

The Flutterwave integration extends RLUSD’s footprint into African cross-border payments, adding a significant real-world transaction corridor to a stablecoin that has grown to approximately $1.7 billion in market cap since launching in December 2024. 

RLUSD is already live on Aave, integrated into Mastercard’s on-chain settlement network, and used in JPMorgan’s cross-border Treasury settlement tests on the XRP Ledger.