Daya Targets Business Payments with Stablecoins

For many African businesses, getting paid is often harder than making a sale. A company can close a deal with a customer overseas, issue an invoice, and wait days for the money to arrive. Paying suppliers abroad can be just as frustrating, with transfers moving through multiple banks before reaching their destination. Those delays are what Daya wants to tackle. The Nigerian startup, founded by Tomiwa “Aleph” Lasebikan and Paul Joe, uses stablecoins to help businesses receive international payments, access dollar liquidity, and settle transactions across borders. The company raised $350,000 from Alliance DAO in 2025 as it looks to build tools for businesses that regularly move money between countries. For Lasebikan, the idea emerged from conversations with customers at Helicarrier, the crypto startup he co-founded after leaving Microsoft in 2018. Many of those customers arrived looking for crypto services. What they actually needed was a simpler way to collect payments from abroad, pay suppliers, and access dollars. “We can talk to anyone in the world instantly,” he said. “Moving money is still one of the slowest parts of doing business.”

Using stablecoins behind the scenes

Daya is not trying to persuade businesses to become crypto users. Instead, it uses stablecoins as infrastructure running in the background. After completing compliance checks, businesses receive access to a US dollar account through Daya’s financial partners. Payments received into those accounts are converted into stablecoins and credited to the customer’s wallet. From there, businesses can keep funds in dollars, send money internationally, or convert the balance into Naira and withdraw it to a local bank account. The company also works with a network of over-the-counter traders to provide foreign exchange liquidity. Rather than relying on a single partner, Daya sources rates from multiple providers before settling transactions. The startup charges transaction fees ranging from 0.1% to 0.3%. For customers, the process is designed to feel like a payment service rather than a crypto product. “The technology matters less than the outcome,” Lasebikan said. “Businesses want to receive money, make payments, and move on with running their operations.”

A market attracting global attention

The push toward stablecoin based payments is no longer limited to crypto startups. Some of the world’s largest payments companies have started experimenting with stablecoin settlement as transaction volumes continue to climb. Research firm Chainalysis estimates stablecoins processed $28 trillion in transactions during 2025, up from $15.6 trillion a year earlier. Much of that activity came from payments, treasury operations, and remittances rather than speculative trading. The broader opportunity is even larger. According to FXC Intelligence, global business to business cross-border payments reached $31.7 trillion in 2024 and could approach $48 trillion by 2032. For startups like Daya, even a small share of that market would be significant.

The problem stablecoins are trying to solve

The challenges facing African businesses did not begin with crypto. For decades, banks across the continent have depended on correspondent banking relationships to access the global financial system. Those partnerships allow money to move between countries and currencies. But many international banks have reduced their presence in emerging markets over the years, citing higher compliance costs and regulatory requirements. The result has been fewer banking channels, more intermediaries, longer settlement times, and higher transaction costs. Businesses often feel the impact without seeing the underlying complexity. A payment that appears straightforward may pass through several institutions before reaching its destination. Stablecoin providers argue that blockchain networks can remove some of those layers and reduce settlement times.

Entering an increasingly crowded field

Daya is far from the only company pursuing that vision. Across Africa, firms such as Yellow Card, Juicyway, and Conduit are building payment infrastructure that uses stablecoins to move money across borders. Globally, established players including Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard have also expanded their stablecoin initiatives. That means Daya enters a market with growing demand but intense competition. The company has early backing and a clear focus on business payments. The bigger challenge will be convincing businesses that stablecoins are more than a crypto trend and can serve as a reliable part of everyday financial operations. Whether that happens may determine how quickly stablecoins move from the margins of finance into mainstream business payments.