Africa: Flutterwave Partners Payful to Ease Cross-Border Trade Payments in Africa

Flutterwave has announced a new partnership with global payments company Payful aimed at simplifying high-value cross-border transactions for businesses trading across Africa.

The partnership enables Payful’s merchants to receive payments in local African currencies and settle globally, using Flutterwave’s compliance-ready, multi-currency payment infrastructure.

Flutterwave’s Founder and CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, said the collaboration reflects the company’s role in supporting global enterprises entering African markets.
“When Payful was ready to expand its presence in Africa, Flutterwave was the natural partner,” he stated. “With our Virtual Account solution and multi-currency platform, Payful can now collect payments locally, settle globally, and scale securely within one seamless system.”

At the core of the integration is Flutterwave’s virtual account offering, which allows merchants to accept local bank transfers for large transactions — a more dependable option than card payments when dealing with high volumes. The system also eliminates the need for Payful to navigate multiple banking networks or regulatory frameworks across different African countries.

The African payments landscape remains challenging, with fragmented regulations, fluctuating currencies, and high transaction costs often slowing business operations. Payful previously had to manage these obstacles while facilitating trade settlements in local currencies like the naira and cedi, while converting to global currencies such as the dollar and euro.

Flutterwave’s infrastructure provides a streamlined alternative, ensuring consistent compliance, smooth liquidity management, and secure settlement pathways. A single API connection handles the entire flow: from local payment collection to global fund settlement through regulated channels.

Flutterwave noted that the partnership fits its broader mission of supporting global companies launching or expanding in African markets, removing the operational strain of integrating multiple local systems.

Payful, which operates across several global trade sectors, described Africa as a strategic growth region. The company said its goal is to ensure merchants on the continent enjoy the same level of reliability and payment ease available in more mature markets.

The partnership positions both companies to support increasing volumes of intra-African and global trade, while reducing friction for businesses moving funds across borders.