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Nkahiseng Ralepeli

VP of Product: Digital Assets
Absa Bank, CIB.
Member since
24 Oct 2024
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Joburg
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Followed by John Sims, Martha Boyle and 5 others you follow

Bio

Nkahiseng is a seasoned leader in the fintech and digital assets space, with a deep passion for leveraging emerging technologies to drive transformative change.

Having worked in various startups across EMEA and the US, he is currently serving as the VP of Product for Digital Assets (stablecoin) at Absa Group, playing a key role in spearheading the development of stablecoin and tokenization strategies across African markets. With a strong focus on Web 3 solutions, Nkahiseng is actively exploring their applications in FX markets, trade finance and payments (both domestic and international payments).

Nkahiseng holds a Master's in Public Policy and a Master's in Law (BCL) from the University of Oxford, he also holds a LLB and Diploma in International Arbitration from the University of the Free State.

His work spans across various innovative initiatives in the digital finance ecosystem, reflecting my commitment to the advancement of financial systems through technological innova

Experience

VP of Product: Digital Assets
Absa Bank, CIB.
To Present
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Latest opinions

Nkahiseng Ralepeli

From Fringe to Foundation: Coinbase’s Debut Signals Crypto’s Coming of Age

For years, digital assets carried a whiff of skepticism in traditional finance circles – a perceived “taboo stain” that serious institutions were hesitant to touch. Many remembered the early days of Bitcoin’s wild price swings, high-profile exchange hacks, and regulators sounding alarms. Crypto companies struggled for mainstream respect; a large p...

14 May 2025

Nkahiseng Ralepeli

Agentic Payments and Stablecoins: From iKota in Hammanskraal to Beluga Caviar in Clifton

What would it look like if Visa and Mastercard rolled out AI-powered, “agentic” payment systems across Africa, backed by stablecoin settlement? In this deep dive, I explore that question—blending current initiatives with realistic speculation about an agentic payment ecosystem on the continent. From Visa’s Intelligent Commerce to Mastercard’s Agen...

12 May 2025

Nkahiseng Ralepeli

The Degen Banker: When Wall Street Meets Crypto Twitter

Once upon a time, calling yourself a “degen” was financial heresy. It meant you YOLO’d into dog coins, aped into DeFi yield farms with 6,000% APRs, and spent more time in Discord than on Bloomberg. You were a creature of chaos, allergic to compliance decks and powered by memes and Metamask. But times have changed. Today, the degen banker is no lon...

05 May 2025

See all 20 opinions by Nkahiseng

Latest comments

Variable Recurring Payments: The Future of Dynamic Payments in South Africa and Beyond

Thanks for the comment, Dinesh.

Financial institutions (FIs) can monetise VRPs by strategically aligning their offerings with business and consumer needs while leveraging the flexibility and scalability of open banking frameworks. For businesses, FIs could introduce tiered subscription models, charging merchants for access to basic, premium, or bespoke VRP services. These tiers might include essential features like payment automation, advanced analytics, and fraud detection. Transaction-based fees could also provide a reliable revenue stream, with merchants paying a small percentage per successful transaction—a more cost-efficient alternative to traditional card payment fees but attractive at scale.

For consumers, FIs can embed VRP capabilities into premium banking services, offering tools like smart budgeting or dynamic overdraft protection. Partnerships with gig platforms, utility providers, or large-scale merchants present another lucrative avenue, enabling FIs to co-develop VRP-enabled payment solutions in exchange for revenue-sharing agreements. Additionally, FIs could monetise the anonymised, aggregated data generated by VRP transactions, selling valuable consumer insights to merchants or using them to enhance their own offerings.

By positioning VRPs as part of a broader ecosystem of value-added financial services—ranging from embedded lending to pay-as-you-go insurance models—FIs can unlock substantial new revenue streams. While the upfront investment in infrastructure is significant, the long-term potential is enormous, especially as open banking adoption grows globally, projected to generate $116 billion annually by 2026. By thinking beyond payments and embracing VRPs as a driver of financial innovation, FIs can turn compliance into opportunity while enhancing customer experiences and boosting profitability.

02 Jan 2025 07:34 Read comment

Nkahiseng writes about

  • artificial intelligence
  • payments
  • regulation & compliance
  • wealth management
  • financial inclusion
  • cryptocurrency
  • markets
  • financial crime
  • predictions

Nkahiseng's opinion archive

  • 2025 (14)
  • 2024 (6)

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  • Innovation in Financial Services

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Brian Mahlangu

Brian Mahlangu
VP Product: Digital Platforms Mobile at Absa Bank, CIB.

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