How cross-chain stablecoin settlement is disrupting FX – insights from OpenPayd

As correspondent banking declines and high remittance costs persist, Lux Thiagarajah from OpenPayd, reveals how cross-chain stablecoin settlement is disrupting the FX market by solving unpredictable settlement times and offshore dollar access.

What is cross-chain stablecoin settlement? 

Cross-chain stablecoin settlement enables tokenized value to move optimally between blockchains, without requiring end users to understand the underlying network. In practice, it means a business can mint a regulated stablecoin on one chain, transfer it at speed and low cost, and redeem it on another chain or into fiat. It removes fragmentation and brings interoperability to what has historically been a siloed ecosystem.

This matters because stablecoins have proven their capacity for scale. In 2024, they carried USD 27.6 trillion in value transfer, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. Yet only a small fraction of that volume represents real-world payments beyond trading and arbitrage. The next chapter is about turning those headline volumes into everyday utility, and cross-chain settlement is the critical enabler of that shift.

Why should the payments and FX industries pay attention to cross-chain settlement?

The FX and payments industries face long-standing structural issues: correspondent banking decline, inconsistent access to offshore dollars, high remittance costs, and unpredictable settlement times. These challenges are most acute across Asia, LATAM, and Africa, where traditional rails often deliver slow and expensive outcomes. Stablecoins provide an alternative. They offer 24/7 transferability, fee transparency, and the ability to settle in minutes.

We are seeing demand first-hand from corporate treasurers, remittance providers, and payment companies. Businesses are increasingly using stablecoins as a practical settlement and liquidity tool. Their original adoption was driven by trading use cases, allowing market participants to move value between exchanges without the friction and delay of converting back to fiat, transferring funds, and re-entering positions after market conditions had already shifted.

Today, that same efficiency is being applied to real-world payments and FX. Moving even one leg of a currency trade on-chain can deliver settlement in minutes rather than T+2, while materially reducing operating costs. Cross-chain settlement amplifies this further. It ensures liquidity is not trapped on a single blockchain and allows treasurers to choose the optimal combination of rails at any given moment.

Who benefits most from cross-chain stablecoin settlement?

The immediate beneficiaries are those in high-cost, high-friction corridors. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the cost to send a USD 200 remittance can exceed 8%, while the global average remains above 6%.

Stablecoins can reduce costs by over 75% in many cases – going as low as 0.5% when paired with reliable on- and off-ramps.

Corridors such as Europe–Nigeria or Gulf–Philippines will feel the benefits earlier than established routes like London–New York, where sophisticated fintechs already offer competitive pricing on traditional rails. Cross-chain settlement also supports global trade and supply chain firms, where faster settlement directly improves cash flow, as well as ecommerce and online platforms that need to reach customers, employees, and partners in markets where traditional banking access is limited or inconsistent, particularly across the eurodollar market.

In the FX market, mid-market and enterprise clients stand to gain. Stablecoins unlock 24/7 liquidity for hedging and settlement, helping firms manage cash more efficiently and avoid the cut-off windows imposed by legacy payment infrastructure.

What challenges still prevent seamless cross-chain settlement, and how can they be addressed?

Technical interoperability is still the biggest hurdle. Each blockchain operates with its own standards, and complexity multiplies as businesses scale across tokens and networks. Regulatory uncertainty has also held enterprises back, although that is changing rapidly. MiCA in Europe and the GENIUS Act in the United States now provide the world’s two largest currency zones with stablecoin frameworks grounded in prudential oversight.

The remaining barrier is orchestration, which is precisely what we have focused on solving. Businesses should not have to understand the mechanics of each chain. They need a unified layer that manages compliance, tokenization, movement, and settlement across networks. This is not about overhauling business models but about integrating a better settlement rail alongside existing infrastructure that delivers measurable improvements in speed, cost, and transparency.

What practical advice would you give financial institutions exploring cross-chain stablecoin rails?

First, focus on regulatory clarity. Work only with regulated issuers and partners who can provide transparent reserves, auditability, and licensing coverage across regions. Institutions now have a global regulatory runway, but compliance expectations remain high.

Second, prioritise distribution over domination. Stablecoins will only reach their potential when treasurers can operate seamlessly across chains through a single interface. This is why we have built rail-agnostic infrastructure that unifies traditional and blockchain settlement. Our API enables institutions to mint and redeem across multiple networks, settling to fiat through SEPA, Faster Payments, SWIFT, and real-time payment rails globally, with stablecoins such as USDC and RLUSD already integrated via our partners Circle and Ripple.

Third, treat stablecoins as a liquidity and settlement tool. The biggest breakthroughs are coming from firms that integrate stablecoins into treasury, working capital, and cross-border payment flows.

Finally, experiment early. Banks and financial institutions worldwide cite real-time settlement as the top benefit driving adoption. The window to establish a competitive advantage is now. Institutions that invest in the right architecture today will be the ones powering global money movement tomorrow.

This editorial is part of the Global Stablecoins Report 2026. Explore how stablecoins are moving from hype to utility for banks, merchants, and fintechs.

About the author

 

Lux Thiagarajah has over 17 years of experience working for some of the largest and most innovative organisations in finance, including JP Morgan, HSBC, BCB, and FalconX. He started his career as an FX trader at JP Morgan, before moving to run a macro trading desk, and then into senior roles in payments, becoming the CRO of BCB and now Chief Commercial Officer at OpenPayd.

 

About OpenPayd

OpenPayd is building the universal financial infrastructure for the digital economy. Their rails-agnostic platform enables businesses to move and manage money globally – across fiat and digital assets – through a single, powerful API. OpenPayd provides embedded accounts, FX, domestic and international payments, Open Banking, and stablecoin on/off ramps – delivering interoperability between traditional finance and digital assets.