Cedar Money, a U.S.-based startup, has just scored a whopping $9.9 million in seed funding to shake up the world of cross-border payments. The investment, led by QED Investors with help from Lattice, NIV, Stellar, and Wischoff Ventures, aims to tackle the headaches businesses face when sending money across borders.

At the heart of Cedar Money’s mission are stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to real-world assets like the dollar—to make payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient than traditional methods. While users see transactions in familiar currencies, stablecoins handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

The startup is focusing on places where cross-border payments are particularly painful, like Africa. In regions like Nigeria, businesses face sky-high fees and hidden costs when converting currencies. “Transaction fees in Africa are much higher than the global average, and it’s even worse in countries where people can least afford it,” explains Cedar Money’s founder, Benjy Feinberg.

Feinberg launched Cedar Money in 2022 after spotting a gap in the market. While stablecoins struggle to gain traction in the U.S., they’re a game-changer in emerging markets where access to dollars is often a challenge. For example, businesses in Nigeria or Argentina rely on dollars for imports, but weak local currencies make this difficult.

Cedar Money started operations in early 2024, initially serving Nigerian businesses with global payment needs. “We’re going where the problem is biggest,” says Feinberg. The company uses stablecoins to simplify transactions for import and export businesses, focusing on tangible goods like rice and shoes. This approach, backed by clear invoices, helps reassure banks about the legitimacy of transactions.

But stablecoin platforms like Cedar Money face hurdles, especially around compliance. Each country has its own rules, and in places like Africa, even basic requirements like providing a street address can be tricky. Feinberg believes the key to success lies in building robust systems to meet these challenges head-on.

Despite these obstacles, the stablecoin boom is reshaping global payments. In 2024, stablecoin transactions hit $8.5 trillion—more than double the volume of traditional systems like Mastercard and Visa. “The market is massive, and there’s plenty of room for us to grow,” Feinberg adds.

With QED Investors backing them, Cedar Money is poised to make waves in the $205 billion cross-border payments industry. As the world warms up to digital assets, this startup is carving out its corner of the market, one stablecoin transaction at a time.