Corporate clients across Africa and Southeast Asia can now mint stablecoins the moment a dollar payment lands, replacing over-the-counter processes taking hours to days
CAPE TOWN, 3 September 2026 — Luno, the leading digital assets exchange in South Africa and Malaysia, today announced a partnership with Meridian, a global digital clearinghouse, to give its corporate clients instant stablecoin minting against incoming US dollars.
How instant stablecoin minting works
Each client receives its own named account details through Meridian's US-regulated clearing network. Dollars arriving over ACH, FedWire or SWIFT are cleared by Meridian and minted into stablecoins, including USDC and USDT, settling directly into the client's Luno wallet. The process is automatic and runs as funds arrive: a client issues one payment instruction and holds stablecoins seconds later, in any size its business requires.
Why dollar access is the constraint for emerging market businesses
That matters most where dollars are hardest to come by. Minting directly with an issuer takes a US issuer relationship most companies in these markets do not have, and the dollars still have to cross correspondent banking to reach it, where an international wire can take one to three business days. Most corporations buy from over-the-counter desks instead, at negotiated prices and in business hours. Roughly seven in ten African countries are contending with a foreign exchange shortage, and in June 2026 the International Monetary Fund reported that Nigerian businesses are turning to stablecoins for cross-border trade in response to scarce dollar liquidity and multi-day clearing delays. Demand for digital dollars in these markets is not the constraint. Efficient access is.
"Until now a corporate in our markets held dollars only when someone else's working day allowed it. That has been true of the market everywhere, not just here. Instant minting changes who controls the timing. The payment arrives, the stablecoins settle into the client's wallet, and the client does not need to get hold of anyone to make it happen," said Dan Kleinbaum, Head of OTC, Luno.
Where instant minting is available
Instant minting comes first to South Africa, where Luno is the leading digital asset exchange, and to its corporate clients across the continent. The partners will look to extend their combined service across Southeast Asia. Luno serves more than 15 million customers across Africa and Southeast Asia, and is regulated across its operating markets. It was recently awarded a Class F Digital Asset Business Licence in Bermuda, which will help power this offering.
"Getting hold of dollars is the binding constraint on business across most of our markets, and the answer to that has too often been an informal one. What we’ve developed runs entirely inside the regulated system: licensed venues, named accounts, screened counterparties and an auditable record on both the fiat and token side. A company in any emerging market should be able to reach the dollar as directly as a company in New York, and through this partnership our corporate clients now can," said Paul Harker, Global Head of Legal and Corporate Strategy, Luno.
"The dollar is fragmenting. It moves over ACH, wire and SWIFT, and across a dozen chains in as many tokenized forms. The businesses that need dollar access most are the ones left on their own to navigate their way into these systems. A company in Lagos is not reaching for stablecoins out of preference, it simply cannot reliably access dollars any other way. Meridian clears across those disparate fiat and token dollar systems: dollars come in over US rails and go out in the form the business actually uses. Luno is an ideal partner to debut instant minting, and we are proud to help them deliver this," said Will Haering, CEO of Meridian.
Verification and compliance
All corporate minting accounts are subject to business verification and compliance screening.
About Luno
Luno is a global digital asset platform serving more than 15 million customers across Africa and Southeast Asia. Founded in 2013, Luno provides individuals and businesses with secure access to digital assets through products including crypto trading, payments and institutional services. Luno is regulated across its operating markets.
About Meridian
Meridian is a US-regulated, digital clearing house providing an alternative to correspondent banking for banks, wallets, and payment networks. Through a single issuer-agnostic API, partners collect, clear, and settle across US, European, and ASEAN payment systems in real time.
Media contacts
Luno: Gerhard Mulder, [email protected]
Meridian: Jano Cadiz, [email protected]
