Stablecoin payroll requires employers to consider the amount workers actually receive, not simply how quickly a digital asset moves across a blockchain, speakers at the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026 in Nairobi said.
Benjamin O. Ajibola, Africa lead at StatePay, said employers’ concerns include tax, regulation, accounting and making sure employees are paid accurately. Sending stablecoins can be quick, he said, but employers must also consider how workers convert those assets into local currency and whether the payment service can be relied upon.
Manan Vora, executive director at Chainberg, highlighted the importance of understanding the digital assets used in business transactions, while the panel also discussed custody, record-keeping and transfer approvals. Together, the speakers outlined the operational decisions companies face when using stablecoins for payroll, commerce and cross-border payments.
Sending stablecoins is not the same as paying employees
Ajibola said employers must look beyond the speed of a stablecoin transfer when deciding whether to use the technology to pay workers.
“There’s a difference between sending stablecoins and paying that person,” he said.
A transfer may reach a recipient’s wallet quickly, but the amount available to the worker can depend on conversion fees, exchange rates and the process required to move funds into a local account or payment service. The employer therefore needs to consider the complete payment journey rather than treating the initial transfer as the end of the transaction.
Ajibola said employer adoption depends on confidence in tax treatment, regulatory requirements, accounting procedures and payment accuracy. Employees may be willing to receive stablecoins, but businesses still need processes that allow them to make payments consistently and account for the value delivered.
That distinction is especially relevant to companies making payments across borders, where the sender and recipient may use different currencies and financial services. A fast transfer does not by itself settle the question of how much the employee can spend after conversion.
Employers must account for conversion and compliance
The panel discussed how stablecoin payroll creates operational responsibilities around currency conversion, record-keeping and compliance.
Ajibola said employers must consider the reliability of the platforms used to send and convert stablecoins. The final value available to an employee can be affected by fees and exchange rates, which means the business must understand how the payment reaches its intended recipient.
For employers, that requires a clear process for calculating payments, recording transactions and reconciling the amounts sent with the value received. Businesses also need to understand the rules that apply to their activities and the jurisdictions in which they operate.
These requirements connect stablecoin payroll to wider questions about the use of digital assets in commerce. Companies may be able to move value through blockchain networks, but they still need internal procedures that make the transactions understandable to finance teams and support accurate business records.
The discussion framed accounting and compliance as part of the practical work involved in adopting stablecoins, rather than tasks that can be set aside once a transfer has been completed.
Businesses need clear custody and approval controls
Vora said businesses should understand the differences between self-custody and using a custodian to hold digital assets.
With self-custody, a company takes responsibility for managing its private keys, backups and associated compliance processes. A business using a custodian places some of those responsibilities with a service provider, although Vora said the company still needs to conduct due diligence on that provider.
The choice affects how a business manages access to funds, authorises transfers and responds to operational risks. Companies need to decide who can initiate payments, who approves them and how access is controlled when funds are held in digital wallets.
Vora also said businesses should reconcile their accounting records against blockchain balances daily. That process helps finance teams maintain a record of the assets held and the transactions that have taken place.
He highlighted the need for transfer approval protocols and decisions about how much money to keep in hot wallets, which remain connected for transactions, compared with cold storage, which keeps assets offline. These controls are part of managing digital assets as business funds rather than treating them as an informal payment channel.
Stablecoin selection matters for corporate payments
Vora warned businesses against treating USDT, USDC and the US dollar as interchangeable.
“USDT is not the same as USDC, and USDC is not the same as USD,” he said.
The distinctions matter because a stablecoin is a digital asset issued under a particular arrangement, while the dollar is a national currency. Vora advised businesses to examine the issuer’s audits, the quality of reserves and the mechanics through which the asset can be redeemed.
For companies using stablecoins to pay employees or suppliers, those considerations form part of selecting a payment method. Businesses need to understand the asset they hold, the process for converting it and the arrangements available when they want to redeem it.
The panel’s discussion connected these decisions to the broader operational requirements of digital asset use. Payment speed is one consideration, but companies also have to manage the asset itself, its conversion into local currency and the records associated with each transaction.
Regulation can shape how businesses compete
Vora encouraged Kenyan firms to view licensing and regulatory compliance as potential sources of competitive advantage.
He said businesses should treat the ability to operate within a clear regulatory framework as an opportunity to build a durable position in the market. In his view, companies that develop reliable compliance practices can make those practices part of how they compete.
The panel’s discussion showed how regulatory requirements influence the practical decisions involved in using stablecoins. Businesses must consider not only how money moves, but also how they identify customers, manage records, control access to funds and account for the value delivered.
For employers considering stablecoin payroll, those responsibilities sit alongside conversion costs and payment accuracy. The technology can provide another way to transfer value across borders, but the business must still ensure its payment process works from the sender’s wallet to the amount available to the worker.
Ajibola’s distinction between sending stablecoins and paying an employee captured the central concern raised during the session: employers need to account for the complete transaction, including the value received and the processes required to make the payment reliable.
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