Paga, one of Africa’s longest‑running fintech firms, has entered a strategic partnership with Sui, the blockchain network developed by US‑based Mysten Labs. The collaboration, announced at the Sui Live conference in Miami on Thursday, marks Paga’s first formal move into the cryptocurrency space since Tayo Oviosu became Group Chief Executive Officer in April.
Oviosu said the alliance will enable Paga to create financial infrastructure that helps Africans protect wealth from currency volatility, expand access to global commerce, improve cross‑border payments and offer alternative financial products. “Financial freedom on this continent is incomplete while the walls of the cage remain,” he told attendees. “We need the right rails, the right partner and the right technology—fast, cheap and global—to serve a billion people. We have found that partner in Sui.”
The partnership will focus on four areas:
1. High‑yield USD accounts backed by USDsui, Sui’s newly launched dollar‑stablecoin;
2. Crypto on‑ramps and off‑ramps for Paga’s existing markets;
3. Tokenised real‑world assets, including real estate, bonds and solar projects; and
4. Cross‑border payment rails for businesses and consumers.
Under the agreement, Paga users could soon hold interest‑bearing dollar accounts, convert between local currency and crypto without friction, invest in previously inaccessible assets such as property or green‑energy projects, and send or receive money across borders as easily as an email.
The move aligns with a broader trend of African fintechs exploring crypto and digital‑currency infrastructure. In October 2025, Flutterwave partnered with blockchain provider Polygon to develop stable‑coin payment capabilities, while Stripe‑owned Paystack restructured as The Stack Group to deepen research into emerging fintech technologies. Both Paga and Sui were admitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s anti‑money‑laundering supervisory programme for virtual asset service providers on 31 March.
Paga processes roughly $1.5 billion in payments each month. Oviosu noted that in 2025 the firm handled $11 billion across 169 million transactions, and since its 2009 founding it has processed $42 billion in total payment volume from 653 million transactions. “That volume represents school fees, salaries and remittances transferred instantly, safely and at a fraction of previous costs,” Oviosu said, adding that the new infrastructure is only the beginning.
Sui launched USDsui, a US‑dollar‑backed stablecoin, on Monday, entering a market dominated by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Unlike those tokens, USDsui is yield‑bearing, allowing holders to earn interest on the digital dollar, positioning it against products such as DAI. The stablecoin is issued by Bridge, the crypto‑infrastructure firm acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2025.
The Paga‑Sui partnership provides immediate scale for Sui’s ecosystem and expands Paga’s service offering, potentially accelerating the adoption of crypto‑based financial solutions across Africa’s largely unbanked population.
