Oslo, Norway – 10 September 2024 – MiniPay – the dollar stablecoin wallet powered by Celo that has amassed over 3.5 million activations since launching in September 2023 – announces a partnership with real-time payments platform Mural to enable direct, instant, and fee-free payments to freelancers at scale. The collaboration, announced during the week of ETHSafari – Africa’s largest annual convergence of Web3 industry players – now connects businesses and individuals across Africa with efficient, real-time payments to move money at the speed of a text.
Traditional payment methods from businesses to contractors, like international wire transfers, are typically saddled with fees, wait times, and other inefficiencies. Furthermore, companies are obliged to have a dedicated payment agency in each country to submit the payments, which leads to high agency fees and lengthy processes.
MiniPay’s collaboration with Mural is therefore a significant step toward a speedy and accessible payment solution for freelancers worldwide. With Mural, businesses can now send payments to thousands of freelancers across the world at once, in a matter of seconds. The payments are disbursed to each individual’s MiniPay wallet, where each freelancer has the freedom to choose whether they wish to save the funds in USD value, or cash out to their local currency. In the latter case, through its partnerships with various ramp providers, MiniPay is able to offer competitive rates to locally popular payment methods like M-pesa in Kenya, MTN Momo in Ghana, or E-wallet in South Africa. MiniPay is now available in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, with plans to expand to more markets.
“From the beginning, MiniPay has been all about democratizing digital finance, especially for underserved communities,” said Jørgen Arnesen, EVP of Mobile at Opera. “We’ve made it simple for our users to send and store a variety of stablecoins, so we’re thrilled to eliminate more barriers and inefficiencies by similarly connecting businesses and freelancers around the world. We’re already using the Mural platform at Opera News to facilitate hassle-free payments to thousands of writers around Africa every month.”
Benefits for all
Businesses pay Mural a small, flat platform fee per month to leverage this solution, which eliminates agency payment fees and allows for payments to be processed automatically.
Freelancers benefit from immediate direct payments that have no lowest limit, and can be paid out as often as required. This means freelancers don’t need to wait to be owed a sufficient amount to receive payment for work done, as transactions can be made starting from $0.01, enabling payments as soon as a task is completed. And all within a wallet that is renowned for its ease of use, having won over millions of users across the African continent since its launch in September of 2023.
Opera News is already using this solution to pay over 2500 of its writers, who strongly prefer this method of payment due to its stability and ease of use. Thanks to batch payments and accounting synchronization, the writers of Opera News are being paid directly and instantly to their MiniPay wallets through the Mural platform.
DeFi for all
A dollar wallet powered by the Celo blockchain, MiniPay has been a massive success since its introduction: in less than a year, users created over 3.5 million unique wallets. MiniPay enables inexpensive (less than one cent per transfer), efficient peer-to-peer payments in seconds. A simple user interface has lowered the barrier of entry to digital finance, while best-in-class cash-in/cash-out options offer maximum flexibility, as well as security relative to local currency fluctuations.
Constantly integrating new features to improve the user experience, MiniPay recently introduced Pockets, which allows seamless swapping between three of the world’s most popular stablecoins, cUSD, USDC, and USDT. With the “Drag & Swap” functionality powered by Mento, a decentralized stablecoin platform, users can switch from one stablecoin to another or swap between all three stablecoins simply by dragging one pocket into another – all with sub-cent fees and no hidden costs.
Making an impact across Africa
“I grew up using Opera; starting in 2013 I used Opera Mini to surf the web, as it was the fastest browser on the market, and its data efficiency was great for travel. Fast forward to today, I can say that it has been an honor to work with the MiniPay team. We are advancing our shared mission of greater financial accessibility worldwide with real-time payments, starting in Africa,” said Sinclair Toffa, Founder and the CEO at Mural.
Users across Africa praise MiniPay for its efficiency, transparency, and flexibility. One freelancer in Kenya remarked, “Unlike before, when payment delays were common, I now receive my payment within the first week of the month. This reliability has made managing finances much easier and less stressful.”
Another freelancer, also in Kenya, stated that “One of the standout features of Minipay is its zero-tolerance for unnecessary charges. Unlike other payment methods that nickel-and-dime you with fees, Minipay ensures that every penny goes exactly where it’s intended.”
Join the millions who experience fast, secure digital payments, now available between both peers and businesses and freelancers – download Opera Mini today.
About Opera
Opera is a web innovator building on more than 25 years of innovation that started with the Opera web browser. While Opera is leveraging its brand and engaged user base in order to grow and develop new products and services for people who seek a better internet experience, Opera’s PC and mobile web browsers, content discovery platform Opera News, and apps dedicated to gaming, Web3 and e-commerce are already the trusted choices of hundreds of millions of active and engaged users. Opera is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the OPRA ticker symbol. Download and access Opera’s products and services from www.opera.com.
About Mural
Mural is a global payments platform that simplifies and optimizes cross-border payments for businesses. Supporting over 48 currencies, Mural enables businesses to pay vendors, contractors, and freelancers via local bank transfers. Users can make thousands of payments in a few simple clicks. Companies can manage contractor payroll, vendor payments, and invoicing from a single global USD account with its all-in-one platform. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 2022, Mural redefines how businesses handle international payments. Sign up for a free account today at www.muralpay.com.