Ripple is expanding his 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 new markets.
Absa will use Ripple’s digital asset technology to store and manage cryptocurrencies and tokenized assets for its clients per day. Release. The integration allows the bank to offer safe, compatible custody infrastructure at a time when regulatory clarity on digital assets in Africa is improving.
The move follows a wider strategy from Ripple to place itself as a back-end provider of blockchain-based infrastructure for regulated institutions. Its custody offer launched earlier this year is already live with clients in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The partnership is based on Ripple’s recent expansion throughout Africa. Earlier this year, the company announced a collaboration with Chipper Cash to Power Crypto-activated Payments and confirmed that its USD-supported stableecoin, 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 for integrating blockchain-based currencies into payment currents.
Ripple has more than 60 legislative licenses and registrations globally, giving it an adherence to jurisdictions where banks remain cautious with exposure to digital asset.
The ABSA agreement, once live, will make South Africa one of the few African markets with a larger bank-backed crypto parent authority.
