Yellow Card raises $40M to expand dollar accounts, pursues SEC license in Nigeria
Yellow Card secured $40 million in funding from SC Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital and others to expand its Global USD Accounts platform for businesses. The stablecoin payments provider says the funds will expand its dollar account services across 50+ countries while strengthening presence in Latin America and Asia Pacific. Total funding now exceeds $120 million following its $33 million Series C round two years ago.
The funding comes as Yellow Card pursues a license under Nigeria's Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. VP Lasbery Oludimu confirmed the application, noting ARIP positions Nigeria at forefront of global crypto regulation. This comes alongside new Nigerian guidelines taxing all virtual asset transactions for companies, individuals, VASPs and P2P platforms.
Yellow Card's CEO Chris Maurice said the focus is now connecting banks directly to stablecoin rails to unlock dollar access for businesses underserved by traditional correspondent banking. The service lets companies hold USD, manage treasury, swap stablecoins and send/receive local currencies.
With dollar access remaining challenging for Nigerian businesses amid forex constraints, will Yellow Card's expanded USD Accounts and stablecoin swaps provide a viable alternative to bank channels, or do regulatory hurdles and volatility concerns make traditional routes preferable despite delays?