Raenest expands beyond cross-border payments with stablecoins and savings

Raenest, a Nigerian cross-border payments fintech, has launched a suite of products that lets users receive, save, and spend money across currencies from a single account, expanding its push to manage more of the financial lives of freelancers and businesses earning internationally.

Unveiled at Raenest Exchange, the company’s annual community event in Lagos on October 21, the products include stablecoin payments, cryptocurrency deposits, two new virtual card options, and a physical card. Raenest is also introducing savings vaults offering up to 7% annual interest on dollar and stablecoin balances and up to 16% on naira savings.

The launch builds on Raenest’s expansion into the US market a year ago, when it introduced products for freelance payouts, stock investing, and stablecoin conversion. The latest additions extend that strategy by giving users more ways to manage their income after it arrives, from holding digital dollars to spending directly from their balances.

“Our opportunities have gotten global, but the way our money moves has not kept up as much,” Majemu Olowodola, Senior Product Manager at Raenest, said during the product announcement. “So we started asking ourselves the question: What if your money could keep up with the life you’re building for yourself? That question is at the heart of Raenest Exchange this year for us.”

Founded in 2022 by Victor Alade, Richard Oyome, and Sodruldeen Mustapha, Raenest initially started as an Employer of Record (EOR), helping foreign companies hire and pay African workers. It later pivoted to help Africans receive money from international clients and employers. 

The company currently offers multicurrency accounts that let freelancers and businesses receive international payments, convert currencies, send money, and manage global income. It operates in African markets including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda and has expanded into the US, India, and the Philippines.

Raenest’s latest launch pushes stablecoins further into its ecosystem. In 2025, the company introduced stablecoin conversion, allowing users to convert USDC and USDT, dollar-pegged digital currencies, into fiat currencies. With this year’s launch, stablecoins can now be used earlier in the payment process. 

What’s new

According to the company, freelancers can create invoices and payment links that let clients choose whether to pay by bank transfer, card, or stablecoin. Once they receive the money, the recipient can keep the USDC or USDT or convert it into supported currencies, including naira, dollars, pounds, and euros. 

The company will also let users receive Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum through Raenest and convert them into USDC. The prevailing market value of the deposited asset at the point of execution will determine the asset’s conversion rate.

“Because holding volatile assets like crypto and keeping your money stable are two different things,” Olowodola said. “So with Raenest, we are introducing crypto deposits. So now you can receive supported cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum via Raenest, and we automatically convert them to USDC for you.”

Harri Obi, Tola Joseph, and Teddi Speaks, in a panel session moderated by Sarah Idahosa at the Raenest Exchange 2026. Image source: Raenest

The company also announced Raenest Vaults, which will allow users to save and earn interest. Users can create vaults in naira, dollars, USDC, or USDT, with the stablecoin and dollar vaults offering up to 7% annually and the naira vault offering up to 16%. Raenest says users can deposit and withdraw from the vaults at any time.

It is also introducing two new virtual card variants, including a prepaid card and a standard card. The prepaid card has its own separate balance that users can fund specifically for spending, while the standard card is connected to their existing Raenest balances. 

The standard card is designed to remove another step for users who already keep money in different currencies, according to the company. Rather than converting USDC into dollars, moving the dollars to a separate card balance, and then making a purchase, users can spend directly from their Raenest wallets.

Raenest is also adding a physical card for online and in-store purchases, POS payments, and ATM withdrawals. The company said users can add the card to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet and draw from their balances, including USDT and USDC.

“We believe that every other thing that comes after getting paid should be a lot more seamless for you,” Olowodola said. “So we’re building one app to help you receive your money, hold it, move it, spend it, and grow with it.”

There is a market behind Raenest’s ambition. Africa’s cross-border payments market was estimated at $329 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2035, as businesses and digital workers increasingly earn and transact across borders. The creator economy was estimated at $3 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $17.8 billion by 2030. 

Yet moving that income remains expensive, averaging 8.45% in Q1 2025 in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to World Bank data. That creates an opportunity for Raenest to provide more value with the money that passes through its platform by offering users more ways to spend and save their income after they receive it. 

The audience at the Raenest Exchange 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria. Image source: Raenest

Raenest competes with fintechs such as Grey, LemFi, and Elevate Pay, which give African freelancers and digital workers access to foreign-currency accounts. Grey already supports USDC and USDT deposits, USD, GBP, and EUR accounts, and a virtual card. LemFi offers USD and GBP Global Accounts and has begun integrating stablecoins into its cross-border payments strategy.

The stablecoin push comes as more African fintechs build products around dollar-pegged digital currencies for cross-border payments. Flutterwave, the Africa-focused payments company, introduced stablecoin balances for users in January through a partnership with Turnkey and, in June, partnered with Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain network, to develop stablecoin settlement infrastructure for its remittance product Send App and its enterprise payments platform, Flutterwave for Business. 

Paga, a Nigerian fintech company, also entered the stablecoins space in May through a partnership with Sui, a blockchain network, to develop infrastructure for stablecoin payments and tokenised assets. Yellow Card has shifted its focus towards businesses, providing stablecoin payment infrastructure, fiat settlement rails, custody, and local stablecoin issuance.

In February, Raenest launched its services in India and the Philippines, targeting freelancers and digital professionals who earn from international clients and platforms. The expansion followed Raenest’s $11 million Series A raise in February 2025, which the company said would support its entry into new markets and the introduction of new product features. 

“Our approach is very simple. We believe that you don’t have to be a crypto expert,” Olowodola said. “What’s most important to you is that you should be able to use your money.”

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