Nigerian fintech pioneer Paga has entered into a partnership with the Sui blockchain, marking its most significant move into cryptocurrency infrastructure to date. The collaboration was unveiled on May 7 at the Sui Live event in Miami, just weeks after founder Taiwo Oyewole was promoted to Group CEO in April.
According to both companies, the integration focus will be on high-yield dollar-denominated accounts backed by USDsui, Sui's newly launched dollar-pegged yield-bearing stablecoin, as well as crypto on-ramp and off-ramp gateways across Paga's operational markets. Additionally, the partnership will extend to tokenized real-world assets, including real estate, bonds, and solar projects.
A Roadmap for Digital Finance
Oyewole told attendees: 'These are cage walls, and until we tear them down, financial freedom on this continent will not be complete. We have found that partner — Paga and Sui.' He outlined that the roadmap could allow Paga users to hold interest-bearing dollar balances, convert between local currency and crypto with minimal friction, invest in previously inaccessible assets, and move money across borders 'as easily and cheaply as sending an email.'
Paga's move follows a broader shift among African fintechs toward exploring blockchain for settlement, treasury, and global payments. In October 2025, Flutterwave partnered with Polygon to build stablecoin payment infrastructure, while another Nigerian payment giant, Paystack, restructured into The Stack Group to deepen research in emerging technologies. Both firms were admitted on March 31 to the Central Bank of Nigeria's anti-money laundering regulatory sandbox for virtual asset service providers.
Oyewole framed the opportunity with demographic data: 'Fifty-seven percent of African adults are unbanked. I see Africa as the largest untapped financial market in the world.'
Key Financial Metrics
Paga currently processes $1.5 billion in payments monthly. In 2025, the company processed $1.1 billion across 169 million transactions. Since its founding in 2009, it has processed a cumulative $4.2 billion in payment volume across 653 million transactions. Oyewole said that scale gives the Sui partnership a 'flywheel start.'
'$4.2 billion is school fees paid, salaries received, a grandmother receiving money from her son in the city — instant, secure, and at a fraction of the cost,' he said.
USDsui Stablecoin and Regulatory Backdrop
Sui launched USDsui on May 4, a dollar-backed, yield-bearing stablecoin that allows holders to earn interest simply by holding digital dollars in their accounts. It becomes the second digital currency in the Sui ecosystem, following the initial launch of the native SUI token in 2023. The stablecoin is issued by Bridge, the U.S. crypto infrastructure company acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion in 2025.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has also selected six entities, including Flutterwave and Kucoin, for a new virtual asset regulatory pilot aligned with the FATF Travel Rule. While Paga's partnership is not directly part of that pilot, the broader regulatory environment is becoming more accommodating for tokenized products.
The Paga-Sui collaboration not only opens up digital assets to potentially 100 million African users but also serves as a landmark case for large-scale fintech adoption of tokenized assets globally. As stablecoin yields and tokenization become operational, Africa's unbanked population may bypass traditional banking entirely, stepping directly into a new era of digital finance.