Yellow Card, a pan-African stablecoin infrastructure company, has achieved a significant milestone by securing a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) licence in South Africa. This development aligns with the country’s growing embrace of cryptocurrency regulation in 2024, making Yellow Card one of the 138 licensed crypto companies operating within South Africa’s regulated ecosystem.
Key Highlights
- Regulatory Milestone:
Yellow Card is now an authorised financial services provider (FSP) in South Africa. This authorisation covers crypto assets and can be extended to other financial instruments, including stocks and tokenised securities, further broadening the company’s service offerings. - Expansion Goals:
Operating in 20 African countries, Yellow Card enables users to leverage stablecoins for cross-border money transfers. Since its inception in 2016, the company claims to have processed over $3 billion in transactions. With the CASP licence, Yellow Card is poised to deepen its presence in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. - Regulatory Context:
South Africa’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, spearheaded by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), has evolved to include licensing exchanges, wallets, and advisory services. While these regulations provide oversight, they do not recognize crypto assets as legal tender. However, the framework has facilitated tax compliance and mitigated risks like money laundering and terrorist financing.- History of Regulation:
South Africa’s journey toward crypto regulation began in 2018 with the establishment of the Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group. The FSCA’s 2022 declaration of crypto assets as financial products set the stage for licensing applications in June 2023, integrating cryptocurrencies into the financial ecosystem.
- History of Regulation:
- Nigeria in Focus:
Beyond South Africa, Yellow Card has engaged with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a crypto licence under the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). The company awaits approval, marking a step toward expanding its footprint in another of Africa’s major crypto markets.
Shaping the Future of Crypto in Africa
Yellow Card’s CASP licence reinforces its position as a leading player in Africa’s crypto ecosystem. “We look forward to building on our licence stack in South Africa and exploring how that will enable further opportunities, not only in South Africa and the SADC region, but across the continent,” the company said.
With over $26 billion in crypto transactions processed in South Africa between June 2023 and June 2024, the regulated environment has unlocked opportunities for fintech companies like Yellow Card to thrive. As the company navigates regulatory landscapes in both South Africa and Nigeria, it is well-positioned to drive the adoption of stablecoins and cross-border payment solutions across Africa.