Skip to main content

Use cases

1. An importer protects a supplier invoice​

A Lagos electronics distributor must pay a Chinese supplier 50,000 dollars in 45 days. Its margin is 8%. A 10% fall in the naira before the payment would wipe out the profit on the whole shipment.

What it does: buys a USD/NGN Up cover for 50,000, 45 days, strike 3% above today's rate, limit 15% above the strike.

Result: the first 3% of any naira fall is its own; protection pays for the next 15%. The cost of the shipment can no longer be destroyed by the exchange rate, and it can price its goods with confidence.

2. An exporter protects a sale​

A Ghanaian cocoa processor will be paid 120,000 dollars by a European buyer in 30 days. Its costs are in cedis. If the cedi strengthens, the dollars buy fewer cedis.

What it does: buys a USD/GHS Down cover for 120,000, 30 days, strike 2% below today's rate.

Result: if the cedi strengthens past the strike, the payout makes up the shortfall.

3. A company protects a loan repayment​

A Ghanaian solar installer repays a 25,000 dollar equipment loan every quarter.

What it does: buys a USD/GHS Up cover before each repayment, matching the amount and date.

Result: each repayment's cost in cedis is limited, so the loan stays affordable whatever the rate does.

4. A business protects a budget, not one invoice​

A Nigerian school pays 10,000 dollars a month in licences and salaries for foreign staff.

What it does: buys a series of Up covers, one for each month, staggered over the year.

Result: the dollar budget for the year has a known worst case in naira.

5. An investor earns from currency risk​

A fund holds 500,000 USDC and believes the market overprices cedi depreciation.

What it does: deposits into a USD/GHS Up cover pool, and limits its backing to contracts of 30 days or less.

Result: it receives the premium of every contract its capital backs at the moment of sale, and its maximum loss on each contract is the capital reserved for it.

6. A desk runs its own pool​

A currency desk prices naira risk daily.

What it does: creates a USD/NGN Up cover pool with its own markups by tenor, a minimum strike distance of 2%, and limited cover only.

Result: businesses buy at the desk's prices, the desk earns premiums on its capital and a share of the pool's fees, and other underwriters can add capacity alongside it.

7. A payments app adds protection at checkout​

A cross-border payments app lets businesses schedule supplier payments in dollars.

What it does: builds BlockFinaX into its payment flow. When a customer schedules a payment for a future date, the app offers to protect it, and adds its own fee.

Result: the customer gets protection without leaving the app; the app earns a fee on every contract. See Partner use cases.