#82 - Step by Step Ferociously: Stripe Sessions and the Relentless Innovation

Inside the Strategic logic behind Stripe Sessions, what it signals for global finance and the playbooks that African Fintech could adopt as Finance and Tech converge.

Illustrated by Mary Mogoi

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Introduction

Gradatim Ferociter - Step by Step, Ferociously - Blue Origin’s Motto

I remember back in 2018 I took a trip to a border town in the Democratic Republic of Congo called Uvira. This was a tiny border town surrounded by Lake Tanganyika that was essentially a trading outpost. My mission centred on scouting ways to support remittances into Uvira and the broader Eastern DRC through the tech we had built in the years prior. This tech was largely agency banking channels and mobile platforms all running on Android systems. The opportunity was in that there are a lot of payments coming into the region through both remittances and payments for the gold and other mineral value chains, either labour or basic supplies. The challenge was in the execution. We needed to figure out banking relationships that would enable us to get dollars from abroad, have the licenses locally to do pay-outs and manage the multiple exchange rates that prevail in such jurisdictions. The complexity made it clear to me that the people of Uvira were not part of the global financial system. They were completely locked out.

Around the same time, Facebook launched its Libra initiative. It was bold: a blockchain wallet integrated into WhatsApp, with stablecoins like LibraUSD and LibraEUR enabling instant global payments. I immediately saw the implications for remittances and emailed my team: this could solve the very problem we faced in Uvira. If we could be the off-ramp i.e. turning Libra into local currency via agent networks, the opportunity was transformative.

No sooner had that insight emerged than Libra was mothballed. I knew nonetheless that the idea was powerful and it would only be a matter of time. How innovation works is that in some domains such as social and chat, technology diffuses very fast. In finance, it takes a bit longer but like Bezos reminds us “Gradatim Ferociter”. Fintech moves step by step ferociously. Platforms shift, new products emerge and both regulators and customers learn. This is best captured by the most recent Stripe Sessions where Stripe announced a whole host of new products.

I’ve long argued that eventually, there won’t be a need to distinguish between “finance” and “tech.” They will converge. Stripe’s latest announcements are the clearest signal yet of this convergence. They’ve woven together two dominant themes; AI and stablecoins and embedded them deep into the core infrastructure of financial services. The result is not hype. It’s real outcomes.

What Libra promised, Stripe is delivering. Not just programmable money, but programmable financial infrastructure. In this piece, I’ll unpack what Stripe launched, zoom into what truly matters, and offer insights for African fintech operators, investors, and regulators who want to understand what’s coming next and importantly, how to get ready for it. We’ll look at their announcements around Stablecoins, Money Management and AI. I’ll give my takes on what matters and emerging playbooks for African Fintech leaders and investors.

Stripe Sessions Summary

The video above is the product keynote talk. I’ll give an overview below. If you prefer reading, you can catch the key announcements on this link.

In keeping with Stripe’s goal of increasing the internet’s GDP, Stripe Sessions 2025 made one thing clear: Stripe is no longer just a payments company. It is positioning itself as the financial operating system for the modern tech stack. From a product strategy perspective, Stripe is creating a stack that blends money movement, compliance, revenue automation, capital, and global infrastructure into a unified programmable layer. Much of this year’s event centred around making that vision real, with major updates to payments, money management, and financial automation. Some of these we will explore in depth; particularly the shifts around stablecoins, treasury, and embedded credit, but others are worth noting briefly.

One of the most forward-looking announcements was Order Intents, a new payment primitive designed for autonomous agents. It’s Stripe’s bet on a future where software not people executes purchases. Optimized Checkout Suite now supports over 100 payment methods including stablecoins, while Orchestration allows large enterprises to route payments across multiple processors without touching code. Stripe also introduced deeper automation tools for billing and revenue logic, expanded tax compliance to 102 countries, and launched Managed Payments, allowing companies to operate globally without setting up local entities. Additions to Radar, Smart Disputes, Link, and Terminal round out a year where Stripe has quietly built the infrastructure to make global finance programmable. We’ll now unpack the key building blocks that matter most for African fintech leaders, investors, and platform builders.

Stablecoins - Borderless Money Movement

The Context

Stablecoins have been the biggest theme this year. It’s easy to get caught in the hype because the zeitgeist makes it seem that they’ll solve world hunger. I always try to be more nuanced and think through the opportunity and how it plays out. Stripe started by calling Stablecoins “room-temperature superconductors for financial services” in their 2024 letter. The idea here is that whereas superconductors let electricity flow through a system with zero loss, Stablecoins let money move through an economy, efficiently and with zero loss.

This idea isn’t entirely new. In many ways, M-Pesa and CBA now NCBA pioneered a stablecoin model nearly two decades ago in Kenya, creating a mobile wallet backed 1:1 with bank deposits, with tools for oversight and integration into the local economy. Stripe is now doing the same, but at internet scale, across global markets. The breakthrough is in marrying crypto rails and fiat systems so tightly that users barely notice the difference. Stablecoins in Stripe are not just a feature, they’re an enabler for everything else Stripe wants to build: global payouts, programmable accounts, real-time treasury, and card issuance without borders. Superconductors for the financial system. In their announcement, they rightly pointed out that;

So stablecoins are incredibly powerful in their own right, but the even bigger opportunity you know, the true alchemy comes from bringing crypto and fiat together. Marrying them so deeply that the distinction becomes almost meaningless.

The Announcements

Their key announcements with regards to Stablecoins are shown below.

1. Stablecoin Payments in Checkout

   1. Stripe now supports USDC and USDB as native payment options in its Optimized Checkout Suite.

   2. Businesses using stablecoins reach twice as many countries and see three times higher order values, highlighting real demand for cross-border payments.

2. Stablecoin Financial Accounts in 101 Countries

   1. After acquiring Bridge, Stripe now offers stablecoin-denominated accounts in 101 new markets.

   2. These accounts let businesses operate in digital dollars without relying on local banks or unstable currencies.

   3. Interestingly, the big four markets in Africa of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa were excluded. Even Ghana was excluded.

3. Global Card Issuing from Stablecoin Balances

   1. Stripe, in partnership with Visa and Lead Bank, allows developers to issue cards that spend directly from stablecoin balances.

   2. This bridges the gap between digital assets and traditional point-of-sale acceptance.

4. Stablecoin Payouts

   1. Businesses can now send payouts via email, with recipients able to receive stablecoins through Stripe Link.

   2. This simplifies global disbursements by removing the need for bank details and enabling instant settlement.

5. Multicurrency Balances with Stablecoin Support

   1. Stripe balances are now multicurrency by default, including stablecoins.

   2. Businesses can hold, move, and convert funds as needed, improving control and reducing foreign exchange costs.

My Take

I’ve been talking about Stablecoins for sometime now. In an article written in 2021, I said;

It’s quite clear that stablecoins can solve global money movement very easily. The issue comes around the currency impact in African markets. By allowing a stablecoin such as cUSD or USDC, a Central Bank is allowing dollarisation in that market. No Central Bank will entertain a dual currency system in the local payments market and dollarisation will likely come at the cost of a weakened local currency.

Post fact, I’d tone down my concerns around dollarisation. Nonetheless, the diagnosis was right, Stablecoins are a boon for Cross-border payments but wider adoption may be held back by regulations. It’s probably why despite Stripe announcing the capabilities in over 101 countries, the big four countries of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa are not supported. This is interesting given that, if Stripe was serious about adoption, going as far as featuring Gigbanq, a Nigerian Fintech that is supporting Nigerians with Stablecoin based payments, these four countries should have featured in their release.

Fundamentally, I think Stablecoin adoption will be governed by the following truths;

1. Central Banks don’t want a complete loss of monetary sovereignty - this means that they should retain the ability to effect changes in interest rates or exchange rates to affect inflation.

2. Central Banks are happy to see more dollars flowing into the economy, but retain visibility and control of those dollars;

3. Globalisation is happening, trade in both goods and services will continue to grow powered by increased connectivity and information sharing. Just head over to TikTok and you’ll see the dominance of Nigerian music in global popular culture. This new world will require borderless payments;

4. The demand for store of value is nuanced. Whilst the demand especially in markets like Nigeria is strong, globalising the dollar has unique diplomatic and geopolitical risks that current commentators may be understating. Christian Catalini co-founder of Lightspark and former member of the early Libra team details this clearly in this article. Well worth a read.

5. An interesting thread that’s emerging is that with the Stripe product, you can now build a Stablecoin native Fintech and provide global payments, store of value and programmability. In the past, you’d have to stitch up partnerships with Thunes, a BaaS provider and a card provider. Effectively, Stripe may enable you to spin up a Fintech at a lower cost.

Playbooks for the Industry

Based on the above i.e. Stablecoins as digital currencies are nothing new, that Stripe is enabling global interoperability together with other players and that a friction exists between demand for Stablecoins and regulatory attitudes. Then the following likely playbooks may matter;

1. The Stablecoin industry in Africa needs to get smart about shaping regulation particularly how the Central Bank can enable adoption whilst managing macro-prudential risk. This needs clarity and proper engagement. I’d go as far as saying that the industry needs to create a consortium or association and draft countless whitepapers that educate the regulators on this idea;

2. My view is that the intersection of remittance use cases for Stablecoins i.e. Stablecoins flowing into the continent and trade payments i.e. importers paying for stuff with Stablecoins will see more and more FX businesses likely moving away from banks. Banks should experiment around Stablecoins and offer capabilities for the industry rather than basic accounts;

3. A big opportunity will be in building Trade Finance for B2B cross-border trade that relies on Stablecoin orchestration. Programmable Trade Finance that supports stablecoin payments.

4. The biggest opportunity is in payments not store of value;

Money Management and Stripe Capital

The Context