Chris Maurice is the person who first recognized the potential of cryptocurrency in the African continent which remained unexplored for a long time.
He is the Co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, the largest Pan-African exchange that caters to the financial needs of the unbanked section of the continent.
Curious to know more? Read along.
Who is Chris Maurice?
Chris Maurice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Even in high school, he was quite the entrepreneur, making money selling Pokemon cards and ghostwriting for various publications.
After finishing high school, he went to Alabama to enroll at Auburn University and earned his Bachelor’s in Finance degree in 2019.
This is where he met Justin Poiroux, the Co-founder of Yellow Card, and a Bitcoin enthusiast even from the early days.
Chris took an interest in Bitcoin in 2013 and started selling the token out of a network of Taco Bells when in University.
After three years, in 2016, he started Yello Card, as an original attempt to bridge the gap in financial services in Africa through an all-inclusive platform.
What is Yellow Card?
Yellow Card is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, the largest in South Africa.
The Company was launched from a dorm room at Auburn University, Alabama. Later, the founders decided to move the capital to Lagos, Nigeria to better serve its customer base.
Nigeria came up as a suitable option since the country has a large population of tech-savvy individuals, an active fintech ecosystem, and a strategic position in West Africa that allows better access to neighboring countries.
The country presently holds the second position among countries that adopted cryptocurrencies as a means of transaction and is one of the pioneers of Central Bank Digital Currency.
Three years later the company was launched, they developed a mobile application for Yellow Card, in 2019, when relocated to Africa.
Ever since, Yellow Card has had a significant influence in revolutionizing the digital currency ecosystem in the whole continent with around $2 billion in transactions within 5 years.
Yellow Card: Features
The company has expanded its operations to 21 countries since its inception and still leads as the stablecoin on/off ramp that popularized the use of cryptocurrencies in the continent.
The platform comes with certain features meaning to enhance customer experience and attract more with an easy-to-use interface.
Trading
Yellow card facilitates the buying and selling of various tokens including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and so on.
However, with stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, and PYUSD being more popular among the users of Africa, the platform also allows the conversion of cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies.
The popularity of stablecoins is associated with their reduced risk and reliability which allows the users to be less worried about losing their investments.
International remittance
Another appealing factor about the platform is the ease of international transactions. Getting rid of banks and other regulatory financial institutions as the middlemen in cross-border transactions helps reduce transaction fees associated with conventional transaction methods while making them faster.
Mobile wallet
There is a mobile wallet that comes with a membership in Yellow Card allowing users to send, receive, and store cryptocurrencies on their mobile devices.
This provides easy access to their digital assets from anywhere and at any time, adding to the convenience for users.
Peer-to-peer transactions
The platform plays a pivotal role in popularizing P2P buying and selling of assets, eliminating intermediaries.
This feature intends to provide users with better control over their assets along with added flexibility as they trade the assets directly with one another, negotiating prices and payment methods.
Awards and recognitions
Both the company as well as the CEO have received several accolades for contributing to the growth of the entire continent and its financial landscape in various ways.
Yellow Card was selected for the AFIS Disrupter of the Year Award in 2023, at the African Financial Industry Summit.
The same year, Chris Maurice was featured in the 30 under 30 List of Forbes, under the Finance and Big Money Startup categories.
Chris Maurice is a well-known writer and public speaker just as he is an established entrepreneur who thought outside the box to come up with one of the most successful ideas of our time.
With a platform that offers a comprehensive set of services, that empowers its users to be a part of the ever-evolving economy securely and conveniently, it is evident that Maurice is a visionary who has the potential to drive many more positive changes in the world, leading to a financially sustainable future.
