Cross-border payments trends for 2026: A continent-wide solution can become a reality

Local businesses find themselves in the golden age of cross-border trade – and it’s only going to accelerate in the new year. Cross-border payments company Verto says it believes that with the tech, the regulation and the stablecoin rails coming into place, a continent-wide solution may soon be a reality.

Last month, the company released its key predictions for the cross-border payment landscape in 2026, with a strong focus on the acceleration of pan-African trade through enhanced technological and regulatory interoperability. Verto anticipates a shift toward more sophisticated, blended payment infrastructure and the mass adoption of embedded finance solutions to enable true, real-time cross-border settlements.

According to James Booth, head of Revenue at Verto, the convergence of new payment rails with stronger compliance frameworks will usher in a “golden age” for African businesses.

“We are at a crucial inflection point,” he says. “The days of simply masking latency through intelligent netting and liquidity optimisation are coming to an end. The next leap toward true real-time cross-border payments will be driven by a successful ecosystem that is natively interoperable across regions and underpinned by robust, trusted compliance.”

Booth identifies three core areas that will redefine the payments landscape for fintech and enterprise clients:

1. The dawn of the currency-agnostic settlement system

2026 will see the maturation of a payment infrastructure capable of dynamically switching between traditional and digital rails.

“A truly successful system will feature multiple rails behind the scenes, creating a kind of currency agnostic settlement system,” he explains.

“It’s about having the traditional bank rails where they remain powerful and relevant, but simultaneously leveraging new settlement rails like stablecoins. Depending on the time of day or the market, businesses will be able to switch between traditional and stablecoin-backed rails for optimal efficiency. This hybrid approach is what unlocks the pathway to real-time settlement.”

2. Embedded finance solutions

Verto predicts that cross-border payment solutions will cease to be siloed platforms and will instead become seamlessly integrated into the day-to-day operations of businesses and consumer services across Africa.

“I’m quite big on embedded solutions,” Booth notes. “A big enabler for businesses in Africa will be embedding financial products and services – like multi-currency accounts and FX capabilities – directly into platforms they already use; think logistics software, e-commerce marketplaces or even communication apps. The more these products can be embedded into different services, the greater the interoperability will be across the ecosystem.”

3. Compliance and trust as the ultimate accelerator

Regulatory alignment and trust, particularly in the African context, are set to move from being a necessary burden to a competitive advantage and a core foundation of a successful cross-border network.

“If you can trust the network, if you have a clear compliance framework, and if you can tell what is real and what is not, that’s when you see mass adoption. Getting the right regulation in place, alongside these new rails, is how we move to a real, trusted cross-border payment network.”

He concludes: “For African businesses preparing for this year, my advice is simple: lean into it. If you are currently doing business in Africa and are looking to expand, now is the time to start laying that foundation to build a more pan-African business. With the tech, the regulation and the stablecoin rails coming into place, a continent-wide solution is becoming a reality.

“We are in the golden age of cross-border trade – and it’s only going to accelerate.”

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