Opera Unveils MiniPay: A Web3 Payments Wallet Empowering Africa’s Digital Finance

Opera Unveils MiniPay: A Web3 Payments Wallet Empowering Africa’s Digital Finance

Opera, a global web company with over 319 million users worldwide, has unveiled MiniPay, a new web3 payments wallet built on the Celo blockchain. MiniPay is integrated with the Opera Mini browser for Android users and aims to make it easier and more affordable for individuals in Africa to send and receive funds. It leverages Celo’s core infrastructure features, including low gas fees, fast settlement times, and access to Celo’s ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps).

The goal of MiniPay is to address financial challenges in Africa, including poor infrastructure, high unemployment rates, and currency instability. It offers instant wallet-to-wallet fund transfers with minimal fees using mobile phone numbers for easy onboarding and key backup through Google. It also integrates with Celo’s FiatConnect partners to support stable assets like cUSD, which tracks the value of the US Dollar.

MiniPay is designed to be user-friendly and is compatible with a broad range of low-powered mobile devices. It initially launches for Opera Mini users in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.

Opera and Celo have collaborated on this project, with the Celo Foundation dedicated to bringing affordable and accessible decentralized finance (DeFi) to mobile users globally. Opera has a strong presence in Africa with its Opera Mini browser.

The Celo blockchain, launched in 2020, aims to create prosperity for all and has a thriving ecosystem of projects and partnerships. The integration of MiniPay into Opera Mini will introduce users to the benefits of the Celo blockchain and its dApps.

The Celo network is undergoing technical upgrades to increase security and scalability while maintaining low gas fees, which will enable more Ethereum-compatible dApps to be built for MiniPay, expanding the possibilities for on-chain finance in the digital economy.

Overall, MiniPay represents a significant step towards enabling individuals in Africa to engage in permissionless digital finance and access the benefits of blockchain technology.