Yellow Card shuts retail app, pivots to business stablecoin payments
Yellow Card closed its consumer crypto exchange across Africa on 1 January 2026 to focus on stablecoin infrastructure for businesses.
Retail exit framed as business pivot, not regulatory retreat
Yellow Card shut down its consumer-facing crypto exchange and mobile app across Africa, a move the company described as a strategic shift from business-to-consumer services to business-to-business stablecoin infrastructure. Lasbery Oludimu, VP of Global Operations and Managing Director of Yellow Card Nigeria, told Nairametrics on 14 August 2026 that the decision had nothing to do with regulatory developments in Nigeria.
Retail users were notified by email on 29 October 2025 that they needed to withdraw all funds before 31 December 2025, with retail operations ending on 1 January 2026. Accounts with zero balances received separate notices on 1 November 2025 indicating those accounts would be deactivated the next day, according to TechCabal.
The closure affected Yellow Card's entire African retail footprint. Media reports cited by industry coverage put the number of affected retail users at approximately 1.7 million. After 31 December 2025, unclaimed funds would be locked but accessible later upon proof of ownership, meaning balances would not be forfeited.
From exchange to stablecoin rails
Yellow Card now describes itself as a stablecoin infrastructure provider rather than a traditional crypto exchange. The company's B2B offering includes stablecoin wallets, payment APIs, settlement solutions, cross-border payment rails, treasury and liquidity tools, and support for local stablecoin issuance by financial institutions, according to its official website and TheCondia.
The platform supports payments across USD and more than 50 local currencies, targeting emerging markets with a focus on roughly 20 African countries. The shift aligns with a broader trend among African crypto startups moving from high-cost, heavily regulated retail exchanges to B2B payment rails serving enterprises, NGOs, and financial institutions seeking stablecoin-based cross-border settlement.
In 2026, Yellow Card secured a $40 million strategic funding round backed by Standard Chartered and Sony, reported by Nairametrics on 5 August. The capital is intended to accelerate international expansion and scale its Global USD Accounts platform for businesses. BusinessDay separately reported that Yellow Card is targeting a $40 billion stablecoin payments market.
Regulatory posture
Yellow Card has applied for licensing in Nigeria under the Securities and Exchange Commission's Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, Oludimu confirmed to Nairametrics. Separately, the company obtained regulatory AML affiliation in Switzerland as a supervised financial intermediary, a status reported by Afrique IT News, strengthening its compliance profile as a global stablecoin provider.
"We shut down our exchange all over Africa. It had nothing to do with Binance or whatever was happening in Nigeria. It was a business and product-related decision," Oludimu said in an interview with Nairametrics.
Oludimu added: "Yellow Card is no longer a crypto company. Yellow Card is a stablecoin infrastructure provider. What we deal with is the technology itself. We are powering financial institutions and businesses in a compliant and regulated manner."
The company's website statement echoed this framing, saying the app closure "allows us to fully focus on our core vision: providing institutional-grade stablecoin infrastructure for businesses across emerging markets."
What changes for users and the market
The shutdown removes a regulated on-ramp for roughly 1.7 million retail users across Africa, who must now migrate to other exchanges or access stablecoins indirectly through fintechs and banks integrating Yellow Card's infrastructure. The pivot also opens space for Nigerian and African developer communities to build on Yellow Card's APIs rather than compete with a consumer app.
The move validates a regional shift toward infrastructure and compliance-focused payments over speculative spot trading, with enterprises, NGOs, and financial institutions becoming the primary demand drivers for stablecoin rails.
What to watch
Yellow Card's application under Nigeria's ARIP programme will determine whether it can formally access banking and institutional partners in the country. The deployment of its $40 million funding round across 20 African markets and the growth of its Global USD Accounts platform will show whether the B2B bet scales beyond the retail exit.
