How a US business can pay African suppliers from a multi-currency wallet

The Financial Stability Board's October 2025 progress report found Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the highest costs for retail cross-border payments. A US business can cut that cost by paying African suppliers in their own currency from a multi-currency wallet. With Verto, you hold USD, convert to naira or shillings when the rate suits, and pay suppliers locally. Here is how, step by step.

Know why paying in dollars costs more than it looks

Many US businesses pay African suppliers in dollars by international wire. It feels simple, but the cost often lands on the supplier. The payment may pass through several banks, arrive days later and land short, and the supplier then converts at its own bank's rate.

Suppliers price that friction in. They quote higher, ask for prepayment or chase late payments. The FSB's 2025 progress report also found Sub-Saharan Africa lags other regions on how quickly cross-border payments arrive.

Paying in local currency changes the picture. Your supplier receives naira or shillings in its own bank account by domestic transfer, in full, and you control the exchange rate.

It can also strengthen your negotiating position. A supplier that is paid in full, on time and in its own currency has less reason to pad its prices, and more reason to offer you better terms on the next order.

Set up your wallet in six steps

1. Open a Verto business account. Sign up online and enter your company's details.

2. Complete verification. Upload shareholder IDs and business documents for the onboarding team to review. Timelines depend on how quickly documents are complete.

3. Start with your USD wallet. As a US business, your home currency wallet is USD.

4. Add the currencies your suppliers use. From the Wallets page, add an NGN wallet, a KES wallet or any other supported currency, and name each one, for example "Lagos packaging supplier".

5. Fund your USD wallet. Transfer dollars from your US bank, or have customers pay you directly. With USD Local Account details, US customers pay over ACH and the money lands in your wallet.

6. Add your suppliers. Enter each supplier's local bank details as a payee, in the currency they invoice in.

Availability of each currency depends on your business profile and where you are registered.

Convert when the rate suits you

Holding dollars means you decide when to convert, rather than converting on the day an invoice is due.

• Exchange Now converts between wallets at a live rate, 24/7, 365 days a year. It suits regular, smaller payments.

• Exchange Deal locks a rate for 24 hours. It suits a large invoice when you want to know the exact cost before you pay.

You can also convert ahead and hold the balance. A US business with monthly naira invoices can keep an NGN balance in its wallet and pay suppliers from it later, without converting each time.

Pay suppliers in their local currency

When an invoice arrives, pay from the matching wallet. A Nigerian supplier receives naira in its bank account over NIBSS Instant Payment, Nigeria's real-time interbank network. A Kenyan supplier can receive shillings over PesaLink or RTGS.

Local payment fees are free on all Verto plans, so a domestic payout avoids the cost of an international wire. If a supplier needs to be paid in another currency, Verto pays out in 48 currencies to 190+ countries. An international SWIFT payment from a US plan costs 20 dollars.

If you have many suppliers, Bulk Payments let you pay them in one batch, and Scheduled Payments let you set a payment for a future date.

Keep control of who pays what

Paying suppliers abroad needs clear controls. Verto lets you give team members read-only access to view balances and transactions, or read-and-write access to add wallets and manage money.

A common set-up is read-only access for accounts payable staff and read-and-write access for the finance lead. Naming wallets by supplier or purpose also makes it obvious which funds are already committed.

Know what it costs

Verto's US plans apply to US-registered companies: Free at $0 a month, Lite at $25 and Emerging at $50, with Enterprise priced on request. See Verto's US pricing for current figures.

FX into African currencies is priced in the exotic band, up to 2% depending on plan. Domestic collections in the local currency are free, and international collections cost 0.3% on the Free plan.

Check these if a payment is delayed

• Supplier name and details. The account name should match the supplier's registered business name exactly.

• Currency. Make sure you paid from the wallet in the supplier's currency, not from USD.

• Payment purpose. Some markets require a clear payment description; include the invoice number.