Ripple partners with Absa Bank to introduce institutional-grade digital asset custody

Stablecoin issuer and cross-border payments platform Ripple has announced an expansion into Africa through a partnership with Absa Bank, one of the continent’s largest financial institutions. The deal will see Absa integrate Ripple’s institutional-grade digital asset custody technology to store tokenized assets, including crypto, for its customers in South Africa.

In a statement released by Ripple on Wednesday, Ripple said Absa will use its enterprise-grade custody platform to secure and scale storage for several digital assets. The system will see the bank manage cryptos and tokenized financial products in compliance with operational standards.

Ripple taps Absa as first custodian in Africa 

Absa Bank will become Ripple’s first digital asset custodian in Africa, a firm that serves more than 12 million customers in over ten countries on the continent.

“Africa is experiencing a major change in how value is stored and exchanged, and our partnership with Absa reiterates Ripple’s commitment to unlocking the potential of digital assets on the continent,” said Reece Merrick, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at Ripple. 

“As one of the most respected and innovative banks in Africa, Absa has a strong track record of leadership, and we’re proud to support its digital asset ambitions with the most secure and compliant custody infrastructure on the market.”

Today, we’re excited to announce that @AbsaSouthAfrica, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, is now @Ripple’s first major custody partner in Africa: https://t.co/9FQ5GTxMnK

We’re bringing institutional digital asset custody to South Africa, providing the secure and…

— Ripple (@Ripple) October 15, 2025

Absa Corporate and Investment Banking’s Head of Digital Product, Custody, Robyn Lawson, said the move shows the bank’s commitment to innovation and client trust. 

“We recognise the importance of providing our customers with secure, compliant, and robust custody solutions for their digital assets. Ripple’s custody solution allows us to leverage proven and trusted technology that meets the highest security and operational standards. Together, we can deliver the next generation of financial infrastructure to our customers,” Lawson remarked.

Ripple’s partnership with the bank follows its earlier collaboration with Africa-based fintech Chipper Cash, where Ripple’s technology powers cross-border crypto-enabled payments. The company also recently introduced its US dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, to African markets.

According to the San Francisco-based technology company’s 2025 New Value Report, 64% of financial leaders in the Middle East and Africa believe faster payments and settlement times is the main motivation for the continents to adopt blockchain-based currencies. 

Ripple said the partnership with Absa was buoyed by “the demand for compliant digital asset infrastructure in emerging markets.” In its press statement, the RLUSD issuer boasted of holding over 60 licenses from financial regulators in Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa.

Africa’s crypto adoption builds bridge for crypto businesses

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, between July 2024 and June 2025, Sub-Saharan Africa received over $205 billion in on-chain value, a 52% increase from the previous year. Africa came third in the list of the fastest-growing crypto markets, only trailing Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

Monthly on-chain volume in the Sub-Saharan region reached nearly $25 billion in March, against the backdrop of a currency devaluation in Nigeria steering citizens and institutions towards crypto. 

Chinalysis mentioned South Africa and Nigeria as the top jurisdictions that have forwarded formal frameworks for crypto trading, taxation, and custody, which has given banks and fintechs confidence to launch digital asset services. 

South Africa, in particular, has seen an uptick in consumer-level crypto adoption, topped off by new integrations in retail payments. Last Monday, QR payments provider Scan to Pay announced a partnership with Bitcoin payments company MoneyBadger to enable crypto payments at checkout counters in the country.

The integration allows users of exchanges, including Binance, Luno, Blink, and VALR, to pay using Bitcoin, stablecoins, and other crypto assets at more than 650,000 Scan to Pay-enabled merchants. Payments are processed through QR codes, while merchants receive settlements in rand via the MoneyBadger platform. 

Crypto exchange Luno said the integration links its network of 30,000 merchants with Scan to Pay, extending payment options to widely used South African retail chains Shoprite, Checkers, Makro, and Vodacom.

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