East Africa's Trade Is Outgrowing Its Payment Rails

East Africa Trade Rails

East Africa's trade is growing rapidly, but its regional payment rails are failing to keep pace. This paper explores:

  • The payment rails bottlenecks: Why East African B2B transactions face transaction costs averaging 9.9% amid a rapid decline in correspondent banking relationships.

  • The regulated sigital-asset wave: A breakdown of Kenya's new, strict 2026 VASP Regulations and how they establish formal guardrails for businesses using stablecoins to navigate dollar scarcity.

  • Local currency settlements: How FCA-regulated platforms like Verto are enabling seamless multi-currency transactions, helping international SMEs bypass volatile foreign exchange rates and secure better margins

Discover how the region is matching the pace with the shifting payment dynamics in our paper and learn how to streamline your cross-border payment operations.