Zone to power global digital currency payments

By Joy Obakeye

Zone, a regulated blockchain Payment Infrastructure company, has completed Africa’s first layer-1 blockchain network, which will enable payments and the acceptance of digital currencies for financial service providers globally.

The United Nations report revealed that Africa’s population will grow to approximately 1.7 billion in 2030, with a potential for $91 billion in cross-border payments and a retail value of over $1.5 trillion.

But at an $8.97 fee per transaction, cross-border payment within sub-Saharan Africa still has one of the most expensive remittance structures. In addition, beneficiaries typically cannot have value delivered instantly to their Bank accounts or mobile wallets.

Zone’s Layer-1 blockchain network will allow payments initiated from one country in one currency to be received instantly in another country and currency at a fraction of prevailing costs. Its regulated blockchain network enables direct transaction flow between financial service providers without an intermediary, bringing reduced transaction costs, instant dispute resolution, and absolute reliability across Africa’s payment borders and beyond.

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In the case of fiat payments, Zone connects some of Africa’s most prominent Banks and Fintechs within and across countries and utilises a native stable coin to provide real-time settlement for cross-border transactions.

Formerly known as Appzone, the Google for Startups Accelerator alumnus, now known as Zone, is on a mission to connect every monetary store of value using blockchain.

Following the rebrand, Appzone’s Banking-as-a-Service business has been carved into a separate standalone company, known as Qore, so it can continue serving existing clients and growing the SaaS platform’s reach.

Speaking on the rebrand, Zone Co-founder and CEO, Obi Emetarom said: “we have led Africa’s fintech sector in global firsts for over a decade. As Appzone, we launched the first core banking and omnichannel software on the cloud as well as the first multi-bank direct debit service based on single global mandates.

“With this transition to Zone, we are utilising the power of blockchain technology to connect every monetary store of value and enable reliable, frictionless and universally interoperable payments. In doing this, we are building one global network to pay anyone through any means, in any currency, which will ultimately maximise financial inclusion and accelerate economic prosperity for Africa and the rest of the world.”