Ripple is expanding its institutional custody infrastructure to Africa through a new partnership with Absa Bank, one of South Africa’s largest financial institutions.
The deal makes Absa Ripple the first major custody client on the continent and reflects growing institutional interest in tokenized assets in emerging markets.
Absa will use Ripple’s digital asset custody technology to store and manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for its customers, according to a statement. The integration will enable the bank to offer a secure and compliant custody infrastructure at a time when regulatory clarity around digital assets in Africa is improving.
The move follows a broader strategy by Ripple to position itself as a back-end provider of blockchain-based infrastructure for regulated institutions. Its childcare offering, launched earlier this year, is already available to customers in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The partnership builds on Ripple’s recent expansion across Africa. Earlier this year, the company announced a collaboration with Chipper Cash to power crypto payments and confirmed that its dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, would be rolled out to African markets.
According to Ripple’s 2025 New Value report, 64% of financial executives in the Middle East and Africa consider faster settlement and reduced transaction costs as the main reason to integrate blockchain-based currencies into payment flows.
Ripple holds more than 60 licenses and regulatory registrations worldwide, giving it a compliance advantage in jurisdictions where banks remain cautious about digital asset exposure.
The Absa deal, once concluded, will make South Africa one of the few African markets with a significant bank-backed cryptocurrency custody offering.
