Ripple is extending 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’s first major custody client on the continent and reflects growing institutional interest in tokenized assets across emerging markets.
Absa will use Ripple’s digital asset custody technology to store and manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for its clients, per a release. The integration will allow the bank to offer secure, 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 custody offering, launched earlier this year, is already live with clients in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The partnership builds on Ripple’s recent expansion across Africa. Earlier this year, the firm announced a collaboration with Chipper Cash to power crypto-enabled payments and confirmed that its USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, would roll out in African markets.
According to Ripple’s 2025 New Value Report, 64% of finance leaders in the Middle East and Africa see faster settlement and reduced transaction costs as the main reason to integrate blockchain-based currencies into payment flows.
Ripple holds more than 60 regulatory licenses and registrations globally, giving it a compliance edge in jurisdictions where banks remain cautious about digital asset exposure.
The Absa deal, once live, will make South Africa one of the few African markets with a major bank-backed crypto custody offering.
