Cross-Border Payments: What African Businesses Should Check Before Switching

Paying an overseas supplier can involve more than sending money. A business may need to convert currencies and rely on several banks before funds reach the supplier. Each step can add friction, cost or delay.

At Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos, payments company Grey demonstrated a feature for converting dollar or stablecoin balances into renminbi and paying Chinese suppliers directly. A separate discussion at the event examined how businesses might accept cryptocurrency while receiving local currency instead.

These developments point to a practical question for business owners: Can a payment service simplify transactions without creating new problems around cost, trust or financial control? The details matter more than a product’s headline promise. TechCabal’s report on Grey’s China payments describes the service and the wider business account. Its report on Breet’s crypto payments offers a second example of a different approach.

What Grey demonstrated

Grey co-founder and chief operating officer Femi Aghedo showed how Grey Business customers could convert dollar or stablecoin balances into renminbi and pay suppliers in China. The aim is to reduce the currency conversions and intermediaries that can feature in overseas payments.

The feature is relevant to importers buying from Chinese manufacturers. Rather than treating a payment as a single transfer, businesses can examine the route money takes from their own account to a supplier’s bank account. Fewer steps may reduce friction, but the source does not state how much a business could save or how quickly a particular payment will settle. Those details should be checked directly with a provider.

Grey Business also includes tools for routine company spending. Businesses can hold dollar balances, issue prepaid expense cards to employees, and control or freeze card use. They can upload a spreadsheet for bulk payments, using the exchange rates available at the time, or connect their systems to Grey through application programming interfaces to automate payments.

The company said Grey Business, launched in February, had processed $61.4 million in payment volume by June. Stablecoins made up the largest share of Grey’s cross-border flows. Grey allows businesses to hold and transfer USDC and USDT, then convert them into local currencies when needed. The China feature extends this model by adding conversion into a supplier’s required currency.

A different model: accept crypto, settle in local money

Breet’s proposition addresses the payment from the other direction. Founded in 2019, the company converts cryptocurrency into cash for individuals in Nigeria and Ghana. It also offers businesses an application programming interface for accepting crypto payments and receiving settlement in local currency.

That separation can matter to a merchant. Customers can pay using digital assets, while the business receives local money instead of having to manage a crypto operation itself. Breet chief operating officer Vivian Mbene described the company’s focus as making the process simple. But she also noted a challenge: simplicity can make some customers suspicious, especially when crypto is involved.

The reports describe different services, not interchangeable solutions. Grey’s demonstration concerns sending money to suppliers in China. Breet’s business offering concerns accepting customer payments in cryptocurrency and settling in local currency. A business might need one, the other, both or neither, depending on where its money comes from and where it needs to go.

Why this matters to your margins and operations

If your business earns in one currency and pays for stock in another, payment costs and conversion steps can affect the amount available for other needs. Grey’s presentation focused on reducing friction in collecting revenue, holding funds and paying suppliers. That is a useful way to review your own payment process: look at the whole route, not only the transfer fee.

Start by mapping how money moves today. Note the currency you receive, where you hold it, the currencies you need, and the steps involved in paying suppliers or receiving customer payments. Include the people and systems that handle each step. A payment option that reduces one task may still need staff attention elsewhere.

Then distinguish between payment convenience and financial control. A simpler interface does not tell you by itself what exchange rate applies, when a payment is considered complete, or what records your team can access. The reports do not provide detailed fees, settlement times or dispute procedures for either service. Ask providers for those terms before deciding.

For businesses with several payment workflows, the surrounding systems matter too. Grey’s report describes spreadsheet-based bulk payments and API connections. If your team needs software to coordinate payments with other business processes, consider how that fits into your business applications. For suppliers who send invoices and delivery updates, a vendor portal may also help organise communication separately from the payment itself.

Questions to ask before adopting a service

Use these questions in a provider conversation and in your own internal review:

• Which transactions does it support? Confirm whether the service fits supplier payments, customer collections, or both. Do not assume that a feature demonstrated for one purpose covers another.
• Which currencies can you send, receive and hold? Grey’s report describes dollar and stablecoin balances converted into renminbi for China payments. Breet’s report describes crypto payments settled in local currency. Check which currencies and routes apply to your own transactions.
• How is the conversion handled? Grey’s bulk payments use the exchange rates available at the time. Ask when a rate is set, how it is shown to your team, and what rate applies to the specific transaction.
• What will the payment process require from staff? Find out whether payments need manual review, spreadsheet uploads or technical integration. Grey’s report mentions all of these types of tools, but your needs may differ.
• What information and controls will your business have? Ask who can initiate or approve payments, manage cards, review transactions and address an error. Confirm the procedures with the provider rather than inferring them from a product demonstration.
• How will you assess trust? Breet’s remarks highlight that an easy-to-use service may still raise doubts. Make sure your team understands the process and can explain it clearly to suppliers or customers.

Keep your existing process documented while you assess alternatives. Compare the full workflow, including currency conversion and staff effort, rather than focusing only on one advertised feature. A clear business website can also help explain your payment options and build confidence with customers and partners.

What to do next

1. List your cross-border payment needs. Separate supplier payments from customer collections. Record the currencies involved and the steps your team follows today.
2. Choose a specific workflow to assess. For example, examine payments to Chinese suppliers or customer payments involving digital assets. Avoid changing several processes at once.
3. Ask providers for the missing terms. Request applicable fees, exchange-rate details, settlement expectations, controls, records and support procedures. The reports do not specify these for every transaction.
4. Check operational fit. Decide whether your team needs account balances, employee expense cards, bulk payments or API connections. Confirm that the service supports the workflow you actually use.
5. Review the process with the people who handle it. Make sure staff can explain how a payment is initiated, tracked and resolved if something goes wrong.
6. Compare the complete process before committing. Consider the number of steps, currency conversions and staff tasks. Choose based on your business requirements, not on the assumption that a newer payment method is automatically better.

Grey’s China payment feature and Breet’s crypto settlement model show how providers are trying to make cross-border transactions more workable for businesses. The useful lesson is not to adopt a particular payment method by default. It is to understand your own money flows, check the terms carefully and choose tools that fit the way your business operates.