Shift Markets Brings South Africa’s First Stablecoin to Life with Stellar and TD Markets

Africa has been a central focus of fintech innovation for good reason. The continent’s financial challenges – from limited banking access to expensive cross-border transfers – have created urgent demand for new solutions. Traditional institutions across Africa are now turning to blockchain infrastructure to address these persistent gaps, particularly in cross-border remittances and financial inclusion.

One such institution is TD Markets (TDME), a longstanding FX brokerage serving clients throughout Africa. In partnership with Shift Markets and Stellar, TDME is now transforming into a fintech innovator. At the heart of this transformation is ZARC, a South African Rand-pegged stablecoin launched on Stellar and integrated into a fully compliant digital asset platform powered by Shift Markets’ crypto exchange infrastructure.

Understanding the Challenges

Africa faces deep-rooted challenges in its financial system. Chief among them: limited access, high remittance costs, and inefficient cross-border transfers. For example, over 300 million ZAR in cash is reportedly smuggled each month across the South Africa–Zimbabwe border due to lack of trusted, low-cost remittance channels​.

Migrants and informal workers often rely on unregulated and risky methods to support families in other countries. These methods not only expose users to fraud and theft but also bypass formal economies, stifling regional development. Additionally, financial mistrust, regulatory fragmentation, and the absence of modern payment infrastructure have left millions unbanked or underbanked.

Building the Solution

Shift Markets: Technology That Powers Crypto Exchanges

Shift Markets specializes in enabling traditional financial institutions to launch crypto platforms quickly, securely, and at scale. When TDME approached the company with a bold vision to launch a stablecoin that could serve real users across Africa, Shift Markets delivered a fully integrated crypto trading platform with ZARC at the center.

From custom user interfaces to advanced order management systems and liquidity tools, Shift’s white-label solution gave TDME everything they needed to go to market with confidence. With Shift’s technology, TDME can now offer:

• High Frequency trading for fast and efficient market execution, ensuring a seamless user experience
• Advanced liquidity solutions to support the ZARC stablecoin, enhancing its accessibility and usability
• Integrated payment solutions for fiat and crypto on/off ramps, bridging the gap between digital assets and local financial systems

This infrastructure enabled TDME to bring ZARC to market quickly while building an ecosystem around it, from remittances and trading to payments and business applications.

TD Markets: Leading the Frontline of Adoption

TDME leveraged Shift Markets’ platform to create a user-friendly and secure exchange that supports real-world use cases for ZARC from day one. With Shift’s tech stack and Stellar’s blockchain, TDME can now:

• Provide liquidity for ZARC and other digital assets
• Offer trading pairs like ZARC/BTC and ZARC/ETH
• Enable fast and low-cost cross-border payments
• Support yield-bearing products backed by ZAR treasury rates
• Help businesses accept and transact in stablecoin payments

TDME is now much more than an FX broker, it’s an active builder in Africa’s digital economy, and Shift Markets is proud to be the technology partner behind that evolution.

Stellar: The Blockchain Layer

To bring ZARC to life, Shift collaborated with Stellar, a blockchain network built for cross-border efficiency and financial inclusion. Stellar provides the rails for fast, low-cost, and transparent stablecoin transactions.
Stellar’s decentralized infrastructure allows ZARC to operate like digital cash with instant settlement, near-zero fees, and integrations with a growing number of wallets and applications.

Through the Stellar blockchain network, ZARC boasts:

• Fast, low-cost transactions for cross-border payments, enabling users to send money securely and quickly
• Zero-fee blockchain transfers, ensuring affordable access to digital finance for users across Africa
• Decentralized trust through Stellar’s secure and transparent blockchain, giving users confidence in the integrity of their transactions
• Global network connectivity through Stellar’s ecosystem, ensuring ZARC’s reach extends beyond South Africa to other regions across Africa
• An integrated, vibrant ecosystem of Stellar partners all focused on a shared goal of building out a better financial infrastructure

With Stellar powering the blockchain layer and Shift Markets powering the exchange infrastructure, TDME has all the components needed to deploy a powerful, end-to-end solution.

Why This Matters

The launch of ZARC and the TDME digital asset platform is already having a measurable impact across multiple dimensions. Financial inclusion has expanded dramatically as millions can now access digital financial tools through stable, mobile-friendly platforms that work with existing payment methods. Migrant workers can send money home securely and affordably, addressing one of Africa’s most persistent economic challenges. Businesses are starting to adopt ZARC for payroll and supplier payments, creating new efficiencies in commercial transactions. The platform supports compliant services in key markets like Botswana, Zambia, and Tanzania, demonstrating meaningful regulatory progress across the region.

Building Tomorrow’s Financial Rails

Global finance stands at a unique inflection point where traditional expertise meets blockchain innovation. The collaboration between TDME, Stellar, and Shift Markets demonstrates what becomes possible when emerging economies leverage cutting-edge technology to leapfrog legacy financial constraints.

As ZARC adoption grows and the ecosystem expands, we’re committed to scaling the infrastructure behind it, transaction by transaction and country by country. TDME is building Africa’s next-generation fintech platform, and Shift Markets is proud to be the engine behind the transformation.