Key takeaways:
- Borderless.xyz has integrated CrissCross as a Partner Financial Institution to expand stablecoin coverage across Africa
- The deal gives existing Borderless.xyz customers access to CrissCross’s corridors without additional onboarding
- CrissCross covers 11 countries across Francophone West and Central Africa, plus Egypt and the UAE
Borderless.xyz has integrated CrissCross into its network as a Partner Financial Institution, expanding stablecoin on/offramp coverage across Africa.
The integration gives Borderless.xyz customers access to CrissCross’s payment corridors through their existing API connection, with no additional onboarding, contract negotiation or integration work required. The joint network routes existing Borderless.xyz customers into CrissCross’s corridors through a single integration point.
African payment corridors rank among Borderless.xyz’s most active routes, with South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana among its top markets. CrissCross provides infrastructure for businesses trading across Africa, covering local collections, payouts, foreign exchange and treasury management.
CrissCross expands local payment access
CrissCross runs direct integrations into local bank networks and more than 15 mobile money operators, a structure the company says is essential given that mobile money functions as the primary banking system in many African markets. Its network spans 11 countries across Francophone West and Central Africa, operating in markets where most providers’ coverage stops at the border.
CrissCross also runs a merchant-of-record model that lets businesses operate across the region, as well as into Egypt and the UAE, without carrying local entity and licensing requirements themselves.
Borderless.xyz targets growing African demand
Kevin Lehtiniitty, chief executive officer of Borderless.xyz, said the partnership reflects where stablecoin payments deliver the most value. “Emerging markets are where stablecoin payments earn their keep, and Africa is the clearest case. The rails, the currencies, and the banking realities are different in every market, and CrissCross knows them from the ground. That’s the kind of depth we’re looking to provide our clients,” Lehtiniitty said.
James Cope, general manager of CrissCross, said the partnership addresses long-standing inefficiencies in African payments. “Africa’s payments landscape requires deep local expertise, genuine in-market infrastructure and deep liquidity. Traditional methods for moving money across the continent are slow and expensive. Our partnership with Borderless brings direct local access and faster, cheaper money movement to a global client base that has historically struggled to reach African markets efficiently,” Cope said.
The partnership connects CrissCross’s local payment infrastructure across African markets to Borderless.xyz’s broader stablecoin network, giving customers access to multiple African corridors through a single point of integration.