Just when you thought the blockchain was all crypto bros and vibes, SA goes all institutional on it: A new rand-backed stablecoin, ZAR Universal (ZARU), has launched in South Africa through a collaboration between Luno, Sanlam, EasyEquities and Lesaka Technologies, marking one of the most institutional-led crypto initiatives yet in the local market.

Unlike earlier retail-focused stablecoin experiments, ZARU has launched initially for qualifying institutional participants only (sorry, crypto bors), with access provided via the Luno and EasyEquities trading desks. 

A phased rollout to broader users is planned at a later stage.

ZARU is a rand-pegged stablecoin issued on a public blockchain, designed to enable 24/7 settlement and lower-friction payments compared to traditional banking rails. Each token is backed 1:1 by rand-denominated reserves held within South Africa’s regulated financial system.

The reserves consist of cash, bank deposits and South African government bond equivalents held with Standard Bank, managed under an asset-liability framework by Sanlam Specialised Asset Management, and independently audited on a monthly basis by Moore Johannesburg.

By keeping the underlying assets onshore while allowing the token itself to trade globally, the consortium positions ZARU as a way to extend the rand’s usability in digital markets without exporting capital from the domestic system.

At launch, ZARU is only available to institutional participants. This positioning reflects the project’s initial focus on settlement infrastructure rather than consumer trading. Stablecoins operating on blockchains can settle transactions continuously, including outside traditional banking hours, which makes them attractive for treasury management, cross-border payments and liquidity movement.

While the consortium has indicated that retail access is planned, the early emphasis on institutional use cases suggests ZARU is being positioned as a financial rail rather than a speculative asset.

Trust has historically been a weak point for stablecoins globally, particularly following high-profile failures and reserve mismanagement. ZARU attempts to address this by anchoring the product in regulated institutions with established balance sheets and governance structures.

Sanlam oversees asset-liability management, Standard Bank holds the reserves, and independent audits are published monthly. This structure appears designed to meet the requirements of asset managers, corporates and regulated financial institutions that would otherwise be unable to interact with digital assets.

For fintech builders, ZARU signals a shift toward institutional-grade digital currency infrastructure in South Africa, with incumbents actively shaping how blockchain-based settlement integrates with the existing financial system.

If ZARU succeeds, it could lower the cost and complexity of rand-based cross-border payments, enable programmable settlement for financial products, and create new on-chain liquidity paths for local FinTech platforms.