Yellow Card secures SEC nod for ARIP, moves stablecoin infrastructure closer to Nigeria’s regulated market
Yellow Card Financial Nigeria Limited, a global stablecoin infrastructure provider, has secured conditional approval-in-principle from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for admission into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), marking a fresh step in the company’s push to deepen its regulated presence in Nigeria.
The admission places Yellow Card within the SEC’s regulatory incubation framework, allowing the company to participate in ARIP within the scope and subject to the conditions imposed by the regulator.
However, the approval does not amount to a full licence or authorisation to launch or operate any specific stablecoin, digital asset product or public-facing regulated service in Nigeria.
The distinction is significant as Nigerian regulators intensify efforts to bring the country’s rapidly expanding digital-asset ecosystem under formal regulatory oversight.
Yellow Card said its conditional approval relates solely to its admission into ARIP and remains subject to continued compliance with applicable regulatory, operational and supervisory requirements, as well as ongoing SEC review and any further written clearance or no-objection that may be required.
Read also: Tranzmit, Yellow Card target faster USA-Nigeria payments with stablecoin settlement
Lasbery Chioma Oludimu, group vice president of operations and managing director of Yellow Card Financial Nigeria Limited, described the development as an important milestone for the company in one of its most strategic markets.
“We are pleased to receive the SEC’s conditional approval for admission into the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme. Nigeria isn’t just one of our markets; it is where Yellow Card started and remains one of the most important markets we operate in today,” Oludimu said.
She added that the company would maintain a compliance-first approach throughout the programme, with customer protection and regulatory compliance remaining central to its operations.
The SEC’s conditional nod comes at a time when stablecoins are becoming increasingly important to Africa’s digital payments and financial infrastructure, particularly for cross-border transactions, treasury management and access to dollar-linked digital assets.
For Yellow Card, Nigeria carries particular strategic weight. The company registered its first African entity in Nigeria in 2019 and has since built the country into one of its major operational hubs. It now has its largest team in Nigeria, alongside members of its senior leadership.
From that Nigerian base, Yellow Card has expanded to more than 60 global markets and established relationships with major financial and payments companies including Visa, Mastercard, Western Union and MoneyGram.
Chris Maurice, co-founder and chief executive officer of Yellow Card, said the company’s objective is to build stablecoin infrastructure globally while meeting regulatory standards in each market in which it operates.
“As a company, we set out to build stablecoin infrastructure for the world, not just for one region. That means meeting the highest compliance standards in every market rather than cutting corners anywhere,” Maurice said.
He described admission into ARIP as an important step in Yellow Card’s regulatory engagement with Nigeria and said the company would continue working with the regulator as it progresses through the programme.
Read also: Yellow Card deepens global footprint as total equity funding surpasses $120m
The regulatory development also comes shortly after Yellow Card announced a $40 million strategic funding round, taking its total funding raised to more than $120 million.
For Nigeria, Yellow Card’s ARIP admission could therefore have implications beyond the company itself.
The move potentially provides a regulatory pathway for infrastructure providers seeking to participate in the country’s emerging digital-asset economy while giving the SEC greater visibility into how such businesses operate, manage risk and protect customers.
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Royal IbehRoyal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria’s technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.