A consortium of South African financial and fintech firms has launched ZAR Universal, a blockchain-based stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the South African rand.
The consortium includes Luno, Sanlam Specialised Asset Management, Easyequities and Lesaka, positioning ZARU as an institutional-grade digital currency for payments and settlement.
“ZARU is designed to modernise payment and financial infrastructure, enabling both retail and institutional users to transact at the speed of the internet while bolstering the local financial system,”
The companies said.
Each ZARU token is fully backed by liquid rand-denominated assets, including cash, bank deposits and South African government bonds, with reserves managed by Sanlam Specialised Asset Management and audited monthly by Moore Johannesburg.
“We’re connecting traditional financial markets to the world of blockchain to enable cheaper, faster payments,”
Said Jacques le Roux, chief executive of Sanlam Financial Markets, adding that the initiative could boost financial inclusion.
James Lanigan, chief executive of Luno, said the stablecoin is “designed to make payments and transfers faster and cheaper while fully supported by secure reserves,” while Easyequities chief executive Charles Savage said it keeps “the rand at the center” of digital finance.
ZARU will initially be available only to qualified institutional investors through Luno and Easyequities trading desks, with retail access planned as part of a phased rollout.