A Cape Town-based payments firm, Lumepay, announced securing $6 million in pre-seed funding for its international money transfer operations. The investment came from early-stage backers tied to the company’s founders and South African fintech investors early in 2026, though no single lead investor was disclosed.
Lumepay’s approach to cross-border payments is described as rail-agnostic by chief executive Harry Huang, allowing customers to send money over conventional banking channels or stablecoins. This method is intended to blend traditional finance with stablecoins, targeting small businesses, corporates, and institutions.
Chief operating officer Luc Varejes notes that moving value between countries currently depends on a complex network of correspondent banks and repeated currency conversions, resulting in slower, pricier, and less predictable payments. Lumepay aims to address this issue with its payments platform.
The company has made significant progress this year, with the launch of Lumetrade, its digital assets and stablecoins trading venue, in April, followed by the payments platform in June. In October, Lumepay received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya, enabling payments in the country. Kenya joins a growing footprint that includes Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and the two CFA franc zones.
Approximately 6,000 businesses and individuals have transacted across Lumepay’s products so far. The company has also established licenses and banking ties, including a sponsorship from Nedbank for its third-party payment provider activity in South Africa and a Category I financial services provider licence for Lume Trade.
The new capital will be used to absorb core infrastructure, banking relationships, and licensing. Management is preparing for a Series A and welcomes approaches from venture capital firms. However, a legal dispute with crypto firm Ovex, which claims Lumepay’s executives broke restraint of trade, confidentiality, and non-solicitation undertakings, is ongoing.
On June 26, the Western Cape High Court upheld the restraint, although its order is limited to South Africa and has a short remaining period. Lumepay is seeking leave to appeal, according to court records.