Nigerian fintech startup Daya has announced a strategic integration with the Aptos blockchain to expand stablecoin-based payment rails across Africa and the Middle East, aiming to make cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and more accessible for businesses and individuals in both regions.
The partnership reflects the growing demand for alternative payment infrastructure in markets where traditional banking systems remain slow, expensive, or fragmented. Cross-border transfers between Africa and the Middle East are especially affected by high remittance fees, currency volatility, and limited interoperability between financial systems. Daya’s integration with Aptos seeks to address these challenges by leveraging blockchain technology and stablecoins to enable near-instant settlement.
Founded in Nigeria, Daya is building a digital payments infrastructure that enables users to send, receive, and manage stablecoin payments while complying with local regulatory frameworks. By integrating with the Aptos blockchain, known for its high throughput and low transaction costs, Daya aims to improve scalability and reliability for its growing user base.
Stablecoins—digital assets pegged to stable currencies such as the US dollar—have become a key tool for fintech platforms operating in emerging markets. They help reduce exposure to local currency fluctuations while enabling seamless cross-border trade and remittances. Daya’s platform is designed to support these use cases, particularly for freelancers, SMEs, and import-export businesses that frequently transact across borders.
According to the company, the partnership will allow users to conduct transactions in seconds rather than days, with significantly lower fees compared to traditional correspondent banking systems. It also opens new possibilities for programmable payments, where transactions can be automated based on predefined conditions using smart contract functionality on Aptos.
The collaboration highlights Aptos’ continued push into real-world financial use cases in emerging markets. Built by former Meta engineers, the blockchain emphasizes scalability, security, and developer-friendly infrastructure, making it attractive for fintech applications requiring high transaction volumes and low latency.
For Daya, the integration is part of a broader strategy to build a unified payment layer connecting African and Middle Eastern economies. The company plans to expand merchant adoption, onboard more financial institutions, and introduce additional services such as payroll solutions, treasury management tools, and cross-border settlement APIs.
Industry analysts see such partnerships as part of a larger trend where blockchain infrastructure is increasingly embedded into mainstream financial services, rather than operating on the fringes of the crypto ecosystem. As regulatory clarity improves in several African and Middle Eastern jurisdictions, stablecoin-based payment systems are expected to play a growing role in regional trade and remittances.
By aligning with Aptos, Daya is positioning itself at the intersection of fintech innovation and blockchain infrastructure, aiming to reshape how money moves across some of the world’s fastest-growing but underbanked markets.
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