How this fintech moves money where freelancers live

Exact numbers are hard to come by, but estimates suggest around 80 million Africans work for global companies. A correspondent in Nigeria files stories for a European newsroom, while a policy analyst in Kenya delivers research to several consulting and legal firms across London and Berlin. These freelancers earn in multiple foreign currencies but spend locally. 

The work often moves smoothly, depending on employment terms, but the pay rarely follows. Traditional banks rely on correspondent networks that delay transfers, charge high foreign-exchange fees, or treat irregular income as risky. For gig workers in emerging markets, getting paid can be frustrating. 

Payd, founded in 2023, has been building a financial platform to address that gap. The company’s CEO, Benaiah Wepundi, who spoke to me on Monday, frames the app as an aggregator for fragmented payment rails. 

If a client in Europe sends USDC, Payd’s treasury receives it and instantly releases equivalent local currency to the freelancer’s bank account.

The last-mile problem

Cross-border payments aren’t hard until you reach the final destination. Most global systems stop at a traditional bank account, but in Africa, where mobile money dominates and informal economies are large, banking connectivity alone is insufficient.

According to Wepundi, Payd integrates directly with mobile money ledgers, cash-in/cash-out networks and local banking corridors across 35 markets. Freelancers can convert US dollars to M-PESA instantly or withdraw cash at agents without delay.

“Competitors offer faster, cheaper payments,” Wepundi said, adding that Payd offers local compliance and customer support. 

Wepundi’s statement is important because I wanted to understand what Payd is doing differently from others. Payd relies on this local integration to differentiate itself, as anyone can copy a digital wallet, but few can replicate a network of compliant payout corridors and treasury operations across multiple countries.

A stablecoins play

Around 60% of Payd’s transaction volume is now processed using stablecoins on blockchain networks (on-chain), which allows payments to settle instantly and without relying on traditional banks. Wepundi claims that payments from the US, Europe, and global platforms can reach wallets in Africa and Latin America in seconds, replacing the days-long delays typical of traditional banking rails. Stablecoins cut intermediary fees and reduce foreign exchange costs by bypassing correspondent banks. 

Behind the scenes, Payd combines on-chain settlement with local treasury operations and partnerships with providers such as Yellow Card and Bridge. This hybrid structure ensures funds are always available and mitigates the risk of downtime or crypto volatility. Payd aims to ensure consistent payouts without forcing users to interact with crypto directly by linking global liquidity with local payment corridors. 

How does Payd work around unstructured income?

Freelancers rarely fit the risk models banks use because their irregular income can trigger frozen accounts or outright application rejections, so Payd built its onboarding to account for this. 

Its verification system goes beyond basic ID checks. It scans global blacklists (sanctions screening) and analyses device locations to filter out bad actors in real time. This precision allows Payd to approve legitimate freelancers with irregular income rather than flagging them as high-risk.

The platform pairs this with tools that align with how freelancers work, like multi-currency accounts, invoicing, reverse billing, and stablecoin receipts. Wepundi adds that the fintech’s compliance approach meets global standards but adapts to local market realities. This compliance-first approach allows Payd to approve accounts that traditional banks often flag as high-risk.

How does Payd handle liquidity? 

Payd’s liquidity engine blends local payment rails and stablecoin settlement to manage the flow of funds across multiple markets. According to Wepundi, each corridor has several providers that allow the system to reroute payments automatically if one fails. 

To prevent money from getting stuck in limbo, a common headache with cross-border transfers, Payd has an auto-reversal feature. If a local network is down or a transaction fails, the system immediately returns the funds to the user’s wallet rather than freezing them while the technical issue is resolved. The system also monitors banking and mobile money networks to spot outages early and automatically reroute payments to other providers to avoid delays.

Currently, Payd operates largely as a payroll engine for companies rather than just a wallet for individuals. About 70% of its transaction volume comes directly from US and European remote-work agencies and talent networks paying their African teams in bulk.

Payd allows freelancers to access international income instantly, while businesses cut costs and gain transparency on FX.  The platform also enables internal transfers between users, which adds a collaboration layer for cross-border teams. 

The largest receiving markets, including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, reflect where digital talent is concentrated, but the model also shows how fragmented global payroll still is, and how much operational complexity Payd handles for platforms and freelancers alike.

How does Payd earn revenue? 

Payd operates on a three-part revenue model: a 1.5% fee on transactions, a 1% margin on foreign exchange (FX) conversions, and a 4% yield generated from liquidity held within the system.

Beyond these core fees, the company plans to introduce lending products, including credit lines and equipment financing, to diversify its income. While external payouts generate revenue, Payd keeps internal transfers between users free. This incentivises teams to keep capital circulating within the Payd ecosystem rather than cashing out immediately.

“Over time, Payd intends to internalise even more of the last-mile infrastructure, including treasury management and regulated local payment capabilities to further reduce costs and dependency on external providers,” Wepundi added. 

The team and funding

Over the next 12 months, Payd plans to expand its presence across Africa and improve local payment rails. It is also expanding payout corridors to reach more freelancers. 

At the moment, it is working on improving inflows from Europe to make it easier for platforms and agencies to pay teams across the continent. 

And considering that LATAM has been a mature fintech market, Payd has since launched in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, serving as a testing ground for replicating its African model in emerging markets. 

The company operates with an 8-person core team out of Kenya and Rwanda. It has raised $80,000 in non-dilutive funding and angel investments, including support from Mozilla Africa. Payd also won $50,000 in the Latitude59 pitch competition.

The fintech takeaway

Payd shows that payments in emerging markets are becoming tailored financial infrastructure for specific sectors. Its edge comes from understanding local contexts and building a system capable of handling unpredictable markets. It earns trust while setting up a scalable model by treating freelancers and gig workers as a distinct segment with their own risk and liquidity patterns.