Lightspark Introduces Tech-Driven International Payment Solutions in Nigeria
Esther Oluku
United States-based tech company, Lightspark, has unveiled its payment products, Universal Money Address (UMA) and Spark, with a promise to transform international payments for Nigerians and its users around the world.
The Chief Product Officer, Lightspark, Nicolas Cabrera, and Co-founder, Kevin Hurley, explained that the products will utilize blockchain technology, assisted by Lightning, to ensure faster and cheaper transactions. This innovation aims to make cross-border money transfers more accessible and inclusive for individuals, businesses, and institutions.
The UMA platform operates like an email system, allowing individuals to create addresses specifically for sending money. It uses a string of information similar to an email address. Each address includes a dollar sign, followed by the user’s name, the “@” symbol, and the domain name, which serves as the endpoint or destination for sending or receiving money.
Cabrera said: “The endpoint behind each UMA address exchange is the wallet or bank associated with the user.”
Speaking about UMA’s service offerings, Cabrera noted that adopting blockchain technology’s open network addresses the challenges of division between financial institutions across countries.
He added: “We believe one of the core issues regarding international payments is the fragmentation and lack of compatibility between banking systems and wallets, which limits businesses and individuals trying to send money to different wallets or banking institutions in various countries. UMA is designed to solve exactly that.
“UMA is not an app. It is not a wallet or a bank. It’s an open network. We believe that, going forward, everyone will have a money address independent of the currency they operate with to send or receive money. UMA works globally.”
Kevin Hurley, speaking on the functionality of Spark, highlighted its value proposition, stating that a key feature of Spark is its interoperability. This feature enables users to move money across various coin-based wallets, streamlining payments by eliminating the hassle of managing multiple wallets for transactions.
He explained that Spark also allows users to send coin-based funds directly to a receiver’s phone number, enabling the receiver to set up a self-custodial wallet to access their funds.
Hurley said: “With Spark, you can send money directly from a coin-based wallet. Now, billions of new users can instantly set up wallets and receive money without onboarding with anyone. They spin up a self-custody wallet and immediately receive funds.”
This marks the second African country where Lightspark has launched its products. In Nigeria, Lightspark is leveraging local partnerships with existing digital wallets such as Yellow Card and Bitnob, while fostering collaboration with regulators to ensure compliance. These efforts aim to empower users to connect their accounts directly with international systems.
By addressing long-standing barriers in cross-border payments and embracing an open, interoperable approach, Lightspark is paving the way for a new era in international financial connectivity.
