Link, checkout or API
Share a payment link, redirect to a hosted page or create payments through the API from your own site.
Stablecoins · São Tomé and Príncipe
Accept USDT and USDC payments in São Tomé and Príncipe
Collect USDT and USDC payments in São Tomé and Príncipe through a payment link, hosted checkout or API, using the assets and networks enabled for your account.
Create a business account
Stablecoin payments in São Tomé and Príncipe depend on your account, its verification and the assets and networks enabled.
USDT
USDCStablecoin payments
Your prices in local currency.
Your customers pay in USDT or USDC while you price and keep your accounts in STN. The checkout shows the asset, network, amount and address for each payment, and your merchant workspace tracks its confirmation. Assets, networks and limits depend on your account and its verification.
Exact instructions for every payment
The customer sees the asset, network, amount and address to use. Sending on the wrong network can lose funds.
Confirmation tracking
Fulfil only when the payment shows confirmed in your merchant workspace, never on the strength of a screenshot.
Know the risks
Stablecoins are designed to track the US dollar but can deviate. They carry issuer, market and network risks and are not bank deposits.
How it works
Create your business account
Register your business in São Tomé and Príncipe and complete the required verification. Enabled features appear in your workspace.
Create the payment
Generate a link, a checkout or an API payment for the order amount.
The customer pays in stablecoins
The customer sends the exact asset on the stated network to the address shown for that payment.
Reconcile and fulfil
Track the confirmation in your merchant workspace, then process the order.
Accepting USDT and USDC in São Tomé and Príncipe: keep the Dobra at the centre
São Tomé and Príncipe’s currency is the Dobra (STN, written Db locally), and the Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe (BCSTP) holds the exclusive power to issue it. If stablecoin payments are enabled for your account, your customer pays in USDT or USDC, while your prices, invoices and accounts can stay in STN terms. Decide how you convert a Dobra price into a stablecoin amount before you share a payment link, and keep that record with the order. A stablecoin payment is an extra option for customers who want it, not a replacement for the Dobra.
The Dobra remains legal tender
Lei n.º 17/2017, the Monetary Law published in the Diário da República on 12 December 2017, states that Dobra notes and coins have mandatory legal tender within the national territory, which means they must be accepted at face value. The law gives that status to the Dobra, not to USDT or USDC, so a customer who prefers to pay in Dobras should still be able to. The BCSTP pages cited here do not set out a position on crypto-assets: check with the BCSTP and your own adviser how stablecoin receipts fit your activity.
Selling to visitors or overseas clients
The BCSTP’s foreign exchange regulation, NAP n.º 06/2024, published on 5 September 2024, requires export receipts to be repatriated to São Tomé and Príncipe through the financial system within 180 days, and it counts services provided by residents to non-residents, including hotel and tourism services, as service exports. If your customers include tourists or foreign companies, ask your bank or the BCSTP how these rules apply to stablecoin receipts before you accept them, and keep each order’s STN price, asset, network and transaction reference together.
Fulfil on confirmation, refund like for like
Release goods or services only once the payment shows as confirmed in your workspace, never on the strength of a screenshot or a forwarded message. If you refund, send back the same asset on the same network to an address you have verified, and record it against the original order. The BCSTP’s complaints channel covers institutions under its supervision that appear on its register, so settling a disagreement with a customer over a stablecoin payment will rest on your own records: keep the order, the confirmation and the correspondence.
These BCSTP sources describe São Tomé and Príncipe’s currency, foreign exchange rules, complaints channel and fintech sandbox. They do not establish a ZyndPay licence, partnership, regulatory approval, or availability for your account.
FAQ
Your questions. Answered.
Can a business in São Tomé and Príncipe accept USDT with ZyndPay?
If stablecoin payments are enabled for your account after verification, you can create USDT and USDC links, checkouts or API payments. Availability depends on your account and the checks that apply.
Do my customers in São Tomé and Príncipe need a ZyndPay account?
No. Customers pay from the wallet of their choice, following the asset, network and address shown on the payment page.
How do I price in STN?
You keep your prices and accounts in STN. The stablecoin amount to pay is shown to the customer before payment; check the terms and fees in your workspace before you start.
How do refunds work?
Refund in the same asset and on the same network, to an address the customer confirms. Keep the reference of the original payment.
How is the Dobra’s exchange rate set?
NAP n.º 06/2024 says the daily exchange-rate bulletin published by the BCSTP takes into account the Dobra’s rate against the euro, defined under the Economic Cooperation Agreement with Portugal, and the same regulation describes a fixed exchange-rate regime. USDT and USDC are US dollar stablecoins, so a Dobra price converts through a dollar rate: note which rate you used when you issue each payment request.
Has the BCSTP run a fintech sandbox?
Yes. Its invitation to the first edition of the Sandbox for FinTechs took applications until 31 January 2024 in three areas: electronic payments, green fintech, and digital credit and savings products aimed at women. The sandbox concerns the fintechs admitted to it and the BCSTP; it does not tell you which payment methods are available to your business.