Ripple Partners With Absa Bank to Launch Digital Asset Custody in South Africa

Ripple has entered into a strategic partnership with Absa Bank, one of South Africa’s largest financial institutions, to provide digital asset custody services for institutional ￰1￱ Takeaways: Ripple partnered with Absa Bank to launch its first digital asset custody service in ￰2￱ deal enables Absa to offer secure, compliant storage for tokenized assets using Ripple’s ￰3￱ move strengthens Ripple’s global custody network and expands its influence across emerging African fintech ￰4￱ move marks Ripple’s first major custody partnership in Africa, extending the company’s reach into one of the world’s fastest-growing fintech ￰5￱ Bank to Offer Tokenized Asset Storage Using Ripple’s Custody Tech Under the agreement, Absa will integrate Ripple’s institutional-grade digital asset custody technology, enabling the bank to offer secure and scalable storage solutions for tokenized assets, including ￰6￱ partnership comes amid rising demand for compliant digital asset infrastructure across emerging markets and growing regulatory clarity around alternative investments in Africa.

“Africa is experiencing a major shift in how value is stored and exchanged,” said Reece Merrick, Ripple’s Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa. “Our partnership with Absa underscores Ripple’s commitment to unlocking the potential of digital assets on the continent,” he added. Ripple’s global custody network now spans Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Africa, supporting financial institutions as they embrace tokenization and blockchain-based ￰7￱ company’s custody infrastructure meets strict operational, security, and regulatory standards, allowing institutions like Absa to safely enter the digital asset space while maintaining compliance.

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: ￰0￱ We’re bringing institutional digital asset custody to South Africa, providing the secure and… — Ripple (@Ripple) October 15, 2025 The partnership expands Ripple’s footprint in Africa, following earlier collaborations such as Chipper Cash, which uses Ripple’s crypto-enabled payments technology, and the planned rollout of Ripple’s USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, across select African ￰8￱ to Ripple’s 2025 New Value Report, 64% of finance leaders in the Middle East and Africa see faster payments and settlement times as the primary reason for adopting blockchain-based currencies in cross-border ￰9￱ over 60 regulatory licenses and registrations worldwide, Ripple continues to position itself as a major provider of compliant digital asset infrastructure for banks and payment firms ￰10￱ Expands Dollar-Backed Stablecoin RLUSD to Africa As reported, Ripple has extended the reach of its US dollar-backed stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), into Africa, forming new partnerships with fintech platforms Chipper Cash , VALR, and Yellow ￰11￱ move opens regulated access to a stable digital dollar for institutional users across the continent, where demand for reliable cross-border payment infrastructure continues to ￰12￱ in late 2024, RLUSD is issued by a New York trust company regulated by the state’s Department of Financial Services and has surpassed $700 million in supply on Ethereum and the XRP ￰13￱ payments, RLUSD is also playing a role in real-world use ￰14￱ Kenya, Mercy Corps Ventures is piloting the stablecoin in climate risk insurance ￰15￱ one initiative, RLUSD is held in escrow and released automatically when satellite data detects drought ￰16￱ pilot provides rainfall insurance, with funds disbursed in the event of extreme ￰17￱ July, Zug-based crypto bank AMINA also announced that it will support Ripple stablecoin RLUSD , initially offering custody and trading services.