Mauritius Governor Warns Stablecoins Add Risks to African Payments

Africa’s economic integration remains constrained by expensive, fragmented cross-border payments, while stablecoins pose risks to monetary sovereignty and financial stability, Mauritius central bank Governor Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor said.

Sub-Saharan Africa had about 835 million registered mobile-money accounts in 2024, reflecting widespread use of digital finance. Transfers between African countries can still pass through correspondent-bank networks outside the continent, increasing costs, delays and operational risk.

Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa cost an average of 8.37% during the second quarter of 2024. That compared with a worldwide average cost of 6.65%.

Under the G20 framework, three-quarters of retail payments and remittances in every corridor are targeted to arrive within an hour by the end of 2027. The program also seeks average retail-payment costs of no more than 1%, with no corridor exceeding 3%.

Regional payment systems are being developed to reduce dependence on intermediary currencies and offshore correspondent banking. They include the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, the Southern African Development Community’s real-time settlement network and COMESA’s regional settlement platform.

The systems’ growth increases the need for common technical standards, compatible regulation and coordinated supervision. Their expansion is intended to move payments more directly across African markets as economic ties deepen.

Thakoor said persistent cross-border payment obstacles have helped drive interest in stablecoins as a possible payments tool. She warned that unchecked use could deepen fragmentation, weaken monetary sovereignty and create financial-stability and financial-integrity risks.

The remarks follow earlier TokenPost coverage of cross-border payments as a stablecoin use case.