Grey’s next bet is making African trade less dependent on the dollar

Grey, the Y Combinator-backed cross-border payments company, says it has built direct currency conversion routes to help African businesses pay suppliers across borders without first converting their money into US dollars, as it expands its services for businesses trading across the continent.

Speaking at a media briefing with journalists on the sidelines of Moonshot by TechCabal 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, Idorenyin Obong, Grey’s co-founder and chief executive officer, identified payment reliability and foreign exchange (FX) liquidity as two major challenges businesses face when making international transactions.

Payments between African countries can involve multiple currency conversions. For instance, a Nigerian business paying a supplier in Kenya may need to convert naira into US dollars before exchanging it for Kenyan shillings, adding another step to an already complicated transaction.

“Most times, if you’re trading within Africa, there’s always some form of intermediary currency,” Obong said. “We’ve built out these currency pairs, these exotic currency pairs, such that you never have to go in between to the USD.”

Obong said Grey has invested in payment infrastructure that allows customers in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana to collect and send money, supported by liquidity arrangements across multiple currencies.

The company said the infrastructure enables real-time settlement in several supported currencies, reducing the need for businesses to source FX through multiple intermediaries.

The problem extends beyond Grey’s customers. In October, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the global bank for central banks, said that many payments between African countries still pass through correspondent banking networks outside the continent, increasing costs and exposing businesses to operational risks.

Other payment providers are also trying to address the problem. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed by Afreximbank in partnership with African institutions, has been expanding local currency payment infrastructure. 

In February, it partnered with Kenya’s Pesalink network to connect regional payments with Kenyan banks and mobile money providers.

Reducing currency conversion steps is only one part of the problem for Grey. Businesses also need assurance that payments will reach suppliers within an expected timeframe, particularly when delays can disrupt procurement and trading relationships.

Obong said customers moving amounts as little as $50, and larger amounts reaching $1 million, can experience uncertainty over whether funds will reach their destination when needed. To address this, Grey provides estimated payment delivery times and says it has invested in infrastructure to improve the reliability of its international payouts.

“We spent the last six years building the infrastructure to ensure that we’re delivering at the last mile at 99.99% to our customers,” Obong said.

In February, Grey expanded into payments and settlement for businesses, as its consumer transaction volumes grew. During the briefing, Obong disclosed that the company had processed more than 40 million transactions and nearly $5 billion in payments since inception.

Grey Business, its multi-currency platform for startups and small businesses, has processed nearly $100 million since launching in February, according to the company. By June, the company said that the platform had processed $61.4 million in its first four months, partly driven by demand for stablecoin-based payments.

The company has also expanded payouts to China, allowing businesses to pay overseas suppliers in Chinese yuan.

Beyond business payments, Grey is trying to solve another problem: what happens after individuals receive money from abroad.

Obong said the company initially launched in 2020 as a currency exchange service but expanded into foreign currency accounts after discovering that customers struggled to receive international payments in the first place.

Remote work accelerated demand for those services, especially among professionals earning foreign currencies while living in African markets.

“Most of our customers were using Grey to receive their foreign salary. And so we decided to build what I would call simply a salary account for these customers,” he said.

That insight led the company to build Paycheck, the salary product Grey launched on Wednesday. The service allows professionals earning in dollars, pounds, and euros to receive and manage their salaries, with features designed to separate money intended for spending and saving.

Obong said Paycheck also integrates with Pouch, Grey’s savings feature, which allows customers to set aside money for goals such as education, travel, or major purchases. The company is exploring additional benefits, including credit and lifestyle rewards.

The push reflects Grey’s ambition to build services around customers’ financial activities rather than simply helping them receive or transfer money.

Grey also faced questions at the briefing about difficulties some customers encounter when accessing foreign currency accounts and obtaining support. 

The company said it offers round-the-clock digital assistance and has a physical office, although it considers online support more effective for routing customer issues to its distributed teams.

Grey’s next challenge is proving that its expanding range of services can solve these problems consistently.