Ugandan diaspora to benefit from remittance cost-lowering tech

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Ugandans living abroad lose billions to high remittance transfer fees, and are set to benefit from technology that could reportedly slash the cost of sending money home by as much as 80 per cent.

Global payments company Visa is touting what it calls stablecoin technology across Africa and promises it will dramatically reduce the seven to 12 per cent fees currently charged on remittances to Uganda.

Speaking during his first visit to Kampala, Godfrey Sullivan, Visa's senior vice president for products and solutions in central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), revealed that stablecoin digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar will transform how diaspora money reaches the country.

"The cost of remittances coming into Uganda is super high. People are paying 7 per cent to 12 per cent in terms of the cost of remittances coming into the country," Sullivan told New Vision Online in an interview on February 24, 2026, at Four Points by Sheraton in Kololo, Kampala.

"We see stablecoins as an important component of helping reduce the cost of those remittances and making it simpler, faster, and cheaper for the diaspora to remit money into the country."

The heavy toll on diaspora families

For millions of Ugandan families relying on money from relatives abroad, the current remittance landscape is punishing. A parent in Kampala expecting school fees from a daughter or son in London, or a small business owner waiting for startup capital from a brother in Dubai, often finds a significant chunk of the money eaten by fees before it arrives.

Traditional bank transfers and money transfer operators involve multiple intermediaries, hidden exchange rate margins, and processing delays that can stretch into days. For a country where remittances form a critical pillar of household incomes, these costs represent lost opportunities for education, healthcare, and small business growth.

Industry data shows sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region in the world to send money to, with average costs hovering around eight per cent—far exceeding the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal target of 3 per cent.

How stablecoins works

Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which can swing wildly in value, Visa says stablecoins maintain a consistent value by being pegged to stable assets. This makes them ideally suited for cross-border payments where certainty of value is essential.

The process, according to Visa, is straightforward: A Ugandan in the diaspora converts their local currency into stablecoins instantly, sends them across borders in seconds, and the recipient in Uganda converts them into shillings on arrival, all at a fraction of the current cost.

Visa has already processed over $225 million in stablecoin transaction volume through pilot programs and is now aggressively rolling out the technology across multiple markets, including Africa.

Strategic partnerships accelerating adoption

Visa says it has partnered with Yellow Card, Africa's largest licensed stablecoin platform, to bring USDC (USD Coin) payments to over 20 African markets.

Yellow Card says it has already processed over $6 billion in transactions since 2019, giving Visa immediate access to established remittance corridors.

The partnership leverages Visa Direct, the company's digital payments network spanning 190 countries, to enable near-instant, 24/7 settlement—even on weekends and holidays when traditional banking systems are closed.

"We're building a bridge between traditional finance and the future of money movement," said Chris Maurice, co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card. The collaboration aims to develop use cases that demonstrate how stablecoins can reduce settlement costs and support year-round payment processing across Africa.

Local relevance  

For Uganda specifically, the implications extend beyond individual remittances. Small business owners who import goods—whether electronics from China or merchandise from Dubai—currently face headaches with cross-border payments that can take days and incur substantial fees. Stablecoins offer these merchants a faster, cheaper alternative.

The technology also arrives as Africa emerges as a global leader in stablecoin adoption. 

According to Yellow Card data, stablecoins already account for 43 per cent of cryptocurrency transaction volume in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria alone recording nearly $22 billion in transactions between July 2023 and June 2024. Analysts estimate that over $300 billion in stablecoin transactions now flow through African markets annually.

Complementing mobile money 

Importantly, stablecoin technology is not positioned as a competitor to Uganda's ubiquitous mobile money services, but rather as a complement. Mobile money has revolutionised domestic payments, but cross-border transfers remain a challenge.

Visa sees mobile money operators as natural partners. In Kenya, for example, the company already works with M-Pesa, enabling users to access virtual Visa cards when travelling abroad or making cross-border purchases.

Michael Berner, Visa's Head for Southern and Eastern Africa, emphasised this collaborative approach during the Kampala visit.

"Everyone who tries to digitise payments, including mobile money companies, is someone we partner with," Berner said. "Cash is something that needs to become history. Payments need to become secure, traceable, and digital."

Regulatory landscape

The technology's rollout depends heavily on regulatory acceptance. In Uganda, the Bank of Uganda regulates mobile money operations and has historically taken a cautious approach to cryptocurrencies. However, stablecoins being fully collateralised and less volatile likely present a different proposition.

Visa says it is working with its partners closely with regulators across Africa to ensure compliance and build trust. The Africa Stablecoin Summit held in Johannesburg in late 2025 brought together regulators from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and South Africa to discuss creating a pan-African stablecoin framework.

"The real enemy is cash," Michael Berner, the senior vice-president and Group country manager for Southern and Eastern Africa, said during his Kampala visit. Digital payments bring security, traceability, and transparency benefits that extend far beyond convenience to fundamental economic development.

Visa plans to expand its stablecoin offerings across additional digital assets and blockchain networks, with a clear long-term vision for widespread institutional adoption. The company has indicated it may incorporate more assets beyond USDC and EURC as demand grows.

For Uganda, positioned at the heart of East Africa's growing digital economy, the technology arrives at a pivotal moment. With a young, tech-savvy population and deep diaspora connections, the country stands to benefit significantly from cheaper, faster money movement.

When asked about his perspective on stablecoin technology for Ugandan consumers, Michael Karamagi Kairumba said: For far too long, we Ugandans have been asked to trust financial innovations that arrive as black boxes we put money in and hope it comes out the other side. The technology offers something different: A public record where every transaction can be verified by the people sending and receiving money, not just the companies facilitating it.

Kairumba added that Visa and its partners must invest in explaining this in the simplest terms at trading centres, in taxis, through local language radio, not just in boardrooms.

Flavia Nakabuye, the Founder of Fridays for Future Uganda, a civil society organisation, who is a frequent traveller and engages in cross-border transactions, said, I’m not so well informed about it, unfortunately, but from what I’m exposed to so far… Visa stable coins is an integration of digital currencies into traditional financial systems.

Nakabuye said It’s important to navigate regulatory challenges and ensure the authenticity and legitimacy of the digital currencies innovation.