How Opera MiniPay used non-custodial embedded wallets
Using non-custodial embedded wallets to achieve financial inclusion in Africa.
October 2, 2024
In September 2023, Opera launched MiniPay, a non-custodial embedded dollar stablecoin wallet for Android, starting in Nigeria. As the most downloaded browser in Africa, Opera could start offering over 100 million users the benefit of USD-denominated savings with this new stablecoin wallet. Built on Celo, MiniPay allows users across Africa to purchase, send, and receive stablecoins with just their mobile phone numbers. Simple onboarding inside of an already popular app allowed for quick and widespread adoption.
Source: minipay twitter
The benefits of MiniPay
MiniPay, built on the Celo blockchain, is directly integrated into the Opera Mini browser.
Users can create a wallet with Google credentials, a familiar registration pattern that makes this new digital service accessible to those previously unfamiliar with blockchain. A user’s keys are backed up to their own Google Account, removing the challenge and complexity of key management and enabling simple recovery in the case of a lost phone.
Once the wallet is created, people can use local payment methods such as Airtime, MPesa, Bank Transfer, or Cards to acquire popular stablecoins, including USDT and USDC, as well as withdraw them back into their local currency.
Peer-to-peer transfers of assets can be done with just a mobile phone number, allowing people to feel confident that they are sending money to the correct party. These low-fee, high speed transfers increase financial inclusion for Africans using the product.
Success of MiniPay
MiniPay has seen great success in the year it has been on the market. It is the fastest growing crypto wallet in Africa with 3.5M unique wallets in the first year, and has expanded beyond Nigeria to Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Active Addresses on Celo really took off after MiniPay launch in Sept 2023
MiniPay’s success stems from the design decisions tailored to the needs of users in emerging markets like countries across Africa.
Mobile-first: Mobile phones are more prevalent in many countries rather than computers for accessing financial services.
Direct integration: Embedding inside an app with immense distribution gave the wallet an immediate leg up in adoption.
Accessibility: The simplified onboarding allows people unfamiliar with crypto security practices to easily create and manage their wallets.
Low fees: MiniPay offers significantly lower fees per transaction than other options for financial services.
Self-custody: People in countries with economic and political instability benefit from users maintaining direct control of their funds rather than institutional control which can limit access without warning.
Utility: MiniPay has added features such as Mural, small business access to real-time payments, that have allowed it to expand to tackle more complex challenges.
By pairing accessible design with massive distribution, Opera has succeeded in offering the users a product they understand with the feature set they want, without having to download a single new app.
Opera MiniPay has proven that apps and products can achieve significant digital market share with blockchain infrastructure, such as a non-custodial embedded wallet that is easy to use.
.jpg)
