South African cross-border payments startup Lumepay has raised US$6 million in pre-seed funding and secured a US$10 million capital float as it builds institutional-grade payment infrastructure for African businesses.
Lumepay’s product and geographic reach
Lumepay, led by CEO Harry Huang, offers rail-agnostic cross-border payment solutions for SMEs, corporates and institutions, combining traditional finance and stablecoins to enable fast, cost-effective and transparent B2B transfers within and across African jurisdictions. The startup launched Lumetrade, its digital asset and stablecoin trading venue, in April and rolled out its payments platform in June.
The company is live in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Kenya, as well as the West and Central African CFA franc zones, and is awaiting further regulatory approvals to expand payment capabilities in these markets. Last month, the startup received regulatory clearance from the Central Bank of Kenya, allowing businesses in Kenya to use Lumepay to pay international suppliers in currencies including Chinese yuan, US dollars and Indian rupees, and to move money across intra-African trade corridors.
Funding, partners and next steps
The US$6 million pre-seed round was backed by founder-led angels and South African fintech investors. The US$10 million capital float was secured to give clients access to deep, reliable liquidity. “The future of cross-border payments isn’t traditional finance or stablecoins; it’s a combination of both, backed by the FX depth to make them work for real businesses,” said Huang. “Our integrated approach addresses the real drivers of friction: fragmentation, liquidity inefficiency and execution risk.”
Lumepay works with Nedbank in South Africa as its Third-Party Payment Provider (TPPP) sponsoring bank, while sister business Lume Trade, an authorised financial services provider covering crypto asset intermediary services, banks with Standard Bank. “Working with Nedbank and Standard Bank across our two businesses reflects the compliance standards we have built from day one,” said Tatenda Nhemachena, Lumepay’s chief legal and compliance officer.
“In the months since the raise, we’ve turned plans into working products: diversified and reliable liquidity; a platform that handles cross-border payments end to end; a growing network of partners and payment rails; and regulatory clearance in South Africa and Kenya,” said Luc Varejes, Lumepay’s COO. The pre-seed funding has been used to build out Lumepay’s core infrastructure, including its payment rails, banking relationships, regulatory approvals and licensed partner network. The startup is now focused on expanding its regulatory footprint across Southern, West and Central Africa, with Malawi, Mozambique and the CFA franc regions identified as key targets as it lays the groundwork for a Series A round.
