- Paychant, a Web3 on- and off-ramp solution serving African users, has integrated the Stellar Anchor Platform (SEP-24) to expand its services on the continent.
- The integration allows any wallet or dApp built on Stellar to leverage Paychant to offer on-and off-ramping of the native XLM and the USDC stablecoin.
Paychant, a non-custodial platform that offers a bridge between traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi for African users, has announced the integration of the Stellar Anchor Platform, better known as SEP-24.
In its announcement, Paychant said that the integration will bring “seamless USDC on- and off-ramping capabilities to all wallets and apps within the Stellar ecosystem.”
Our recent integration of the Stellar anchor platform brings seamless $USDC on and off-ramping capabilities to all wallets and apps within the @StellarOrg ecosystem. Read more about this on our blog.https://t.co/IYFzqtJfFT pic.twitter.com/MncFSZuxWg
— Paychant (@paychant) July 31, 2024
In an accompanying blog post, the company noted that the SEP-24 integration would offer its users access to Stellar’s “Hosted Deposit & Withdrawal” standard.
SEP-24 is a Stellar Ecosystem Proposal that allows anchors—which means any on/off ramp between the Stellar ecosystem and the fiat rails—to service any app in the network without the need for custom connectivity rails or APIs.
Essentially, any traditional banking or finance app, such as Moneygram or PayPal, can integrate Stellar through the SEP-24 API standard and allow users to convert the money they hold to USDC and XLM without leaving the app. In fact, as we have reported, Moneygram has constantly praised Stellar for its continued innovative approach to payments.
This standard ties in perfectly with Stellar’s vision of connecting the world’s financial and payment system in a seamless, cheap, and decentralized ecosystem.
Paychant’s integration of the SEP-24 protocol allows it to “seamlessly support Stellar wallets with a broad range of local payment options across Africa for fiat on- and off-ramping.” The team added:
As a result, wallets and applications built on the Stellar network can now leverage Paychant to facilitate the on- and off-ramping of USDC and XLM.
Stellar’s Focus on Payments in Africa
Paychant’s integration of SEP-24 opens up a whole new world of opportunity for its users. Stellar boasts 7.5 million wallets with a threshold balance, making it one of the most popular networks.
Paychant noted:
With SEP-24, Paychant’s on- and off-ramp services are accessible to all wallets within the Stellar ecosystem, ensuring a more inclusive payment infrastructure and delivering a seamless user experience for onboarding and off-boarding on the Stellar blockchain.
For Paychant, this integration aligns with its mission to drive economic empowerment in Africa. The region has the lowest financial inclusion rates, and its residents pay the highest fees to access financial services. Access to Stellar could change this as the network has some of the lowest fees in the ecosystem.
Most African countries have also recorded high inflation and currency depreciation, making crypto, especially stablecoins, a godsend. Zimbabwe, for instance, hit 290% inflation last year, the highest in the world. Sudan, another African nation, was third with 155%. Now, its citizens can convert their volatile fiat currencies to USDC.
Paychant noted:
By embedding Paychant’s on/off-ramp widget natively within any Stellar wallet, African users can easily convert local currency into USDC using their preferred payment methods. This capability empowers users with greater control over their financial assets, providing protection against economic volatility.
XLM trades at $0.09708, losing 6% in the past day. It has a market cap of $2.83 billion.
