Kora, a Dubai-headquartered payments infrastructure provider focused on African markets, has launched One Rail, a new service that integrates stablecoin payments into its existing platform as businesses seek faster and less expensive ways to move money across borders.
The product allows businesses to receive, store, exchange, and settle digital currencies alongside traditional fiat transactions using Kora’s existing payment infrastructure. One Rail initially supports USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT), with the company planning to add other dollar-pegged stablecoins as customer demand develops and regulatory and operational conditions permit.
One Rail is designed to give African merchants access to stablecoin-based cross-border payments through Kora’s existing infrastructure, allowing them to move funds faster, reduce transaction costs, and improve access to digital-dollar liquidity without requiring specialized blockchain expertise.
Stablecoins Target Cross-Border Payment Friction
Kora is positioning the service as a response to several challenges affecting African companies involved in international commerce. Cross-border payments across the continent can involve lengthy settlement periods, high foreign exchange costs, limited access to U.S. dollar liquidity, and payment systems that vary significantly between countries.
Stablecoins, which are digital assets designed to maintain a relatively stable value against currencies such as the U.S. dollar, can provide an alternative settlement mechanism. By using stablecoin networks, Kora aims to reduce some of the delays and costs associated with transferring funds through conventional international payment channels.
The company said One Rail would allow merchants to incorporate these capabilities without having to develop their own blockchain infrastructure. Businesses can access the service through Kora’s existing application programming interfaces and developer tools, enabling stablecoin functionality to be incorporated into established payment systems.
Wallets and Automated Reconciliation
The platform allows merchants to create dedicated wallets for receiving stablecoin payments and monitor transactions in real time. Kora’s Dashboard also provides automated reconciliation capabilities, helping businesses track incoming and outgoing funds while reducing manual payment administration.
Merchants can maintain balances in digital dollars or convert stablecoins into supported local currencies. Once converted, the funds can be transferred to domestic bank accounts through Kora’s existing payout network.
The initial rollout focuses on merchant collections, payouts, and treasury operations. Features include wallet creation, payment confirmation and manual settlement, giving businesses a way to incorporate stablecoin transactions into existing financial workflows.
The integration of stablecoin collections, treasury management, local-currency conversion and domestic payouts through one API could help businesses avoid building separate systems for digital assets and traditional payment methods.
Kora Expands Its Payment Infrastructure
Kora, previously known as Korapay, was founded in 2018 and operates infrastructure intended to connect African businesses with the global digital economy. Its platform combines bank transfers, mobile money, card networks, and stablecoin payment rails through a unified API and payment infrastructure.
The company operates across several African markets, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt, while also supporting businesses connected to the GiMAC region.
The expansion into stablecoin payments comes as digital-dollar assets gain greater relevance in emerging markets where businesses can face difficulties accessing foreign currency and efficient international settlement networks.
According to reports, Kora’s management sees stablecoins as a way to reduce friction in African cross-border commerce while giving merchants greater flexibility over how they receive and settle international payments.
Kora founder and CEO Dickson Nsofor highlighted the cost burden faced by businesses and consumers involved in cross-border transactions. He indicated that remittance costs across Africa have remained significantly above the global average, while stablecoin adoption on the continent has continued to increase.
Nsofor also emphasized that One Rail was intended to make stablecoin payments accessible through the same infrastructure businesses already use, rather than requiring companies to build specialized digital-asset systems.
For developers and enterprises, the service could simplify stablecoin adoption by combining digital-dollar transactions with bank transfers, mobile money, cards and local-currency payouts within an existing payments environment.
The launch marks another step toward integrating blockchain-based settlement with conventional financial infrastructure in Africa. For businesses operating across multiple currencies and payment networks, Kora‘s approach seeks to make cross-border transactions faster, more flexible and less costly while maintaining access to familiar payment channels.
