IOSG: Can Stablecoins Reshape Cross-Border Payments in Asia? A Strategic Overview and Investment Opportunity Analysis
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IOSG: Can Stablecoins Reshape Cross-Border Payments in Asia? A Strategic Overview and Investment Opportunity Analysis
With the widespread adoption of local payment channels, traditional transfer costs have been significantly reduced. Currently, fees are primarily concentrated in the domestic settlement process—a step that stablecoins cannot bypass.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Turbo, IOSG
TL;DR
- Stablecoin strategies among cross-border payment companies fall into three categories: stablecoin收款 (accepting stablecoin settlements), stablecoin issuance (applying for licenses to issue proprietary stablecoins), and regulatory risk isolation via independent offshore brands. Currently, only a handful of companies have launched actual products.
- Stablecoins offer limited advantages in cost or speed for cross-border payments. As local payment channels proliferate, traditional wire transfer costs have been significantly compressed. Today, fees are concentrated in the domestic settlement leg—a step stablecoins cannot bypass. Currency exchange remains unavoidable as well; stablecoins do not meaningfully resolve either of these core pain points.
- Neobanks represent the highest-value node in the stablecoin cross-border payment value chain. The true advantage of stablecoin payments lies in closed-loop ecosystem circulation—zero-friction execution is only possible when both payer and payee settle in stablecoins. Regions with underdeveloped banking infrastructure—such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa—are the strongest use-case environments. Tether’s investment in SQRIL signals this clearly.
I. The Myth of Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments
Asian cross-border fintech companies’ stablecoin strategies primarily follow three directions:
- Stablecoin adoption: accepting stablecoin settlements
- Stablecoin issuance: applying for licenses to issue stablecoins
- Independent branding: operating crypto/stablecoin businesses through independent offshore entities to isolate regulatory risk from domestic licensed operations
Independent offshore entities are a prerequisite
All companies with substantive stablecoin operations rely on independent offshore entities: KUN (under Yeepay), DFX Labs (under LianLian), and RD InnoTech (under RD Technologies).
Stablecoin收款 is currently the only live product—but few companies disclose fees or settlement speeds.
Most companies begin with stablecoin收款 rather than stablecoin issuance—including LianLian, KUN, and OristaPay. Only RD InnoTech is closest to launching its own stablecoin (HKDR).
Yet no company has publicly disclosed fee structures or settlement speeds for stablecoin payment services—as mature payment providers routinely do. BVNK is the sole exception, with a fee structure comprising: zero transfer fee + standard FX spread + external wallet deposit/withdrawal service fee + blockchain network fee.
March 2026 Hong Kong License Issuance Will Be an Industry Inflection Point
The HKMA will issue its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses in March 2026—with very few approvals expected. Confirmed applicants include RD InnoTech, JD, and Anchorpoint Financial. RD InnoTech has a relatively high probability of approval, having already entered the HKMA’s Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox.
License outcomes will determine which firms can advance from stablecoin adoption to stablecoin issuance—and whether Hong Kong can become a genuine stablecoin hub or remain constrained by Beijing’s influence.
Why Stablecoin Adoption Is Moving Slowly Among Cross-Border Payment Companies
# Stablecoins deliver virtually no cost or speed advantage in cross-border payments
For a cross-border business owner sending funds from overseas to mainland China, the process involves three main legs: transfer, FX conversion, and domestic settlement.
- Transfer: moving funds from the overseas buyer to the payment platform via SWIFT, local bank rails, or internal wallets.
- FX conversion: converting foreign currency (e.g., USD, EUR) into RMB at a given exchange rate.
- Domestic settlement: withdrawing converted RMB into a mainland Chinese bank account or Alipay.
# New local payment channels have driven traditional transfer fees close to 0% and settlement near real-time
Historically, SWIFT transfers were costly and slow—the primary cost driver in cross-border payments. In the companies analyzed here, transfer fees accounted for 56% of total costs. For example, using Airwallex’s SWIFT rail incurs ~$25.
However, many cross-border fintechs now operate local payment networks, meaning:
- Fintechs collect from payers via local payment networks in their home markets (e.g., ACH in the U.S., SEPA in Europe, UPI in India), move funds internally across their global network, and disburse to recipients via local networks in their destination markets—bypassing SWIFT entirely.
These new channels have drastically reduced cross-border transfer fees. Domestic settlement now accounts for 58% of total costs.
Yet domestic settlement is precisely the leg stablecoins cannot bypass—users still need RMB cash in their bank accounts.
Stablecoins not only fail to circumvent domestic settlement—the FX leg remains equally unavoidable in cross-border payments. Stablecoins offer little room to improve user experience. Transfers are already near real-time and near-zero-cost; FX conversion is now the dominant cost source—and stablecoin providers must perform FX conversions for users just like everyone else.
In sum, if we fairly compare only the cross-border transfer leg—excluding domestic settlement and FX—the stablecoin layer offers no meaningful improvement.
II. Investment Implications: The Neobank Narrative
Core thesis: Neobanks are pivotal to stablecoin cross-border payments
The stablecoin cross-border payment value chain comprises three layers:
- Issuance layer (Tether, Circle, HKMA-licensed entities): creating stablecoins
- Infrastructure layer (Bridges/Stripe, BVNK, Circle CPN): facilitating stablecoin movement and conversion
- Distribution/endpoint layer (neobanks): converting stablecoins into local purchasing power
Neobanks represent the critical bottleneck—and the highest-value opportunity—in this chain.
# Neobanks Are the “Last Mile”
Stablecoin cross-border payments only realize true advantage in ecosystems where stablecoins serve as the final destination—not merely as a bridge to fiat.
If merchants accept stablecoins, pay suppliers in stablecoins, and employees receive salaries and spend via stablecoin-native neobanks, the entire transaction completes fully on-chain—without touching traditional rails.
Once any party converts back to fiat, withdrawal costs reintroduce settlement fees comparable to those charged by fintechs’ local channels. This explains why stablecoin payments are most compelling in regions with weak banking infrastructure, active remittance corridors, or crypto-native communities.
Moreover, neobank users can earn yields on stablecoin holdings above market averages—providing additional incentive beyond payments alone, positioning stablecoins as yield-bearing assets.
# Target Regions With Underdeveloped Financial Infrastructure
Stablecoins are most persuasive where they outperform traditional banks:
- Southeast Asia (Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia): >44% unbanked population; high penetration
- Middle East/Africa: large remittance corridors, weak local payment rails, regulators actively open (UAE has established four regulatory frameworks)
Tether functions as a parallel financial system in Vietnam. Its investment in SQRIL signals a strategic bet on the neobank layer—enabling people in underbanked countries to spend USDT locally. This is the strongest market signal yet.
# Why Series A/B Rounds Represent the Optimal Investment Window
Stablecoin neobanks are infrastructure-heavy businesses requiring local licenses, local banking partners, KYC/AML compliance infrastructure, merchant networks, and consumer trust.
- Seed/Pre-A rounds are too early: business models unproven, regulatory risk high, unit economics unclear.
- Series A/B rounds represent the optimal window: demand validated, compliance confirmed, unit economics proven—risk materially reduced.
- Late-stage/IPO may be too late: valuations already reflect premium for mature business models.
III. Deep Dive: Stablecoin Strategies Across Cross-Border Payment Companies
Airwallex
Airwallex adopts a more cautious strategy: build internally first, then deploy once regulation and market conditions mature. This reflects its existing strengths in traditional payment rails—reducing urgency to adopt stablecoins immediately.
Stablecoin/blockchain integration: skeptical, no live products
# CEO Jack Zhang Is Skeptical of Stablecoins
- He asserts Airwallex already delivers “real-time transfers at sub-0.01% fees,” adding, “you can’t get cheaper than free or faster than real-time.”
- The company’s official blog echoes this stance, noting existing local payment rails are already sufficiently efficient.
# Internal Stablecoin Team
In July 2025, Airwallex posted 22 stablecoin engineer roles to build a token settlement platform team. Job postings reveal plans to construct infrastructure enabling customers and internal systems to buy, hold, send, and settle tokens globally—supporting near-instant global payments, on-chain liquidity management, and seamless fiat–stablecoin conversion.
Planned use cases include: cross-border settlement in emerging markets, on-chain liquidity management, and programmable payments bundled with fiat-to-stablecoin conversion services.
# Current Status
- No live stablecoin products. The December 2025 company mission update made zero mention of stablecoins.
- No public partnerships with Circle, Tether, or other stablecoin issuers.
- 2026 strategic priorities center on geographic expansion, AI-powered developer tools, and CX enhancement—stablecoins are not included.
- Company blog (January 2026): “Whether stablecoins add value remains an open question.”
XTransfer
Stablecoin/blockchain integration: proactive, but no live products
# Overseas Stablecoin收款 Service
XTransfer announced in August 2025 it would launch an overseas stablecoin收款 service by year-end, initially available to select clients. As of February 2026, however, no public confirmation of launch exists.
# Hypothesis: Dual-Wallet Model
XTransfer’s stablecoin strategy centers on a dual-currency wallet model, enabling enterprises to hold both fiat and stablecoins simultaneously.
WorldFirst (Ant Group)
Stablecoin/blockchain integration: WorldFirst’s product layer does not yet incorporate stablecoins or blockchain—but Ant International is building foundational blockchain infrastructure.
- WorldFirst’s current products do not offer stablecoin or crypto services. Its official offerings contain no blockchain, stablecoin, or digital currency components—all run exclusively on traditional banking rails.
- However, parent company Ant International is building critical blockchain infrastructure, expected to gradually extend to WorldFirst:
# Whale Platform Tokenized Deposit Service (TDS)
In 2024, over one-third of Ant International’s $1 trillion+ annual transaction volume was processed via the Whale platform using blockchain technology. This is not stablecoins—it is tokenized deposits (TDS).
Tokenized deposits are issued by licensed banks—not stablecoin issuers. For example, HSBC’s tokenized deposits allow clients to create digital records of their traditional fiat deposits. HSBC holds the underlying fiat deposits, while each digital record on the DLT is a transferable token—enabling instant fund transfers without batch processing delays.
In May 2025, Ant Group and HSBC jointly launched Hong Kong’s first blockchain settlement solution for tokenized deposits—supporting real-time HKD and USD payments via corporate wallets.
- Other tokenized deposit partners include: DBS, Standard Chartered, OCBC, BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan Kinexys Digital Payments, and Deutsche Bank.
- UBS Digital Cash (November 2025): UBS Singapore signed an MoU with Ant International to explore multi-currency tokenized deposit capabilities and integrate them into the Whale platform.
- Standard Chartered (December 2025): Launched HKD, offshore RMB (CNH), SGD, and USD tokenized deposit solutions on the Whale platform—and completed a HK$38 million interbank tokenized transfer (from HSBC to Standard Chartered).
- Ant International has partnered with ten international banks to support tokenized deposits on the Whale platform.
- Participating in MAS’ Project Guardian: ISDA and Ant jointly published an industry report on using tokenized bank liabilities for FX settlement in transaction banking.
Yeepay
Stablecoin/blockchain integration: no direct integration in Yeepay’s official products
- Yeepay’s official products do not integrate stablecoins. However, Yeepay’s co-founder is actively building stablecoin payment infrastructure via the independent brand KUN (Kun).
# KUN Product Matrix
Note: KUN serves only clients “outside mainland China and the U.S.”
# KUN Partnerships & Integrations
- Circle Payments Network (CPN): live. Confirmed by Circle, KUN is a CPN partner supporting 24/7 USDC/EURC settlements. CPN mainnet launched mid-2025, with 29 initial financial institution integrations.
- WSPN: integrated WUSD (a USD-pegged stablecoin) into the KUN Space platform for cross-border enterprise transactions (March 2024).
- Marco Digital (01942.HK): reported completing Asia’s first USDT-based insurance commission payment via KUN (August 2025).
LianLian Pay
Stablecoin/blockchain: live—via third-party integrations
- LianLian Pay ranks among China’s most proactive cross-border payment firms in stablecoin strategy.
# Circle/USDC MOU: Still exploratory, no live products
Signed an MOU with Circle to evaluate USDC for large-scale international payment flows. Also exploring applications of Circle’s Layer-1 blockchain Arc in future payment scenarios.
# BVNK Partnership: Live stablecoin payment integration (June 2025)
Fund flow: merchant deposits stablecoins → BVNK auto-converts to USD → LianLian executes global transfer via its network.
# RD Technologies (Yuanbi Tech): HKDR Stablecoin
Partnered with RD Technologies, which plans to issue HKDR (a HKD-pegged stablecoin) on Ethereum. LianLian uses RD Technologies’ RD ezLink for enterprise identity verification and RD Wallet for payments—and has also partnered with HashKey Exchange and Cobo.
HKDR remains in sandbox/testing phase. Full rollout awaits RD Technologies’ formal HKMA stablecoin issuer license (expected March 2026).
# DFX Labs: Virtual Asset Trading Platform (wholly owned Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of LianLian)
Core activities include:
- Cryptocurrency trading: buying/selling Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
- Wallet services: virtual asset custody/storage
- Liquidity provision
- DFX Labs holds an HK SFC VATP license (Type 1 – Securities Dealing + Type 7 – Automated Trading), subject to passing SFC on-site inspections and independent penetration testing before full operation.
RD Technologies (Yuanbi Tech)
Founded by former HKMA Chief Executive, with key competitive advantages:
- Regulatory pedigree: former HKMA Chief Executive serves as Chairman; founding sandbox participant
- Dual licensing: Stored Value Facility (SVF) license + Stablecoin Sandbox participation
Core businesses: payments (OristaPay) + stablecoin issuance (RD InnoTech)
- Operates under HKMA’s SVF license (SVF0016), issued December 2022
- Multi-currency e-wallet supporting eight currencies for corporate payments and FX management
- Transfer methods: FPS (Faster Payment System), CHATS, Telegraphic Transfer (TT)
Two distinct business lines:
- OristaPay (Yuánwěn Pay): fiat-based B2B cross-border payment and wallet services—positioned as a “next-generation payment infrastructure provider”
- RD InnoTech Limited (Yuanbi Innovation Technology Ltd.): focused on stablecoin issuance (HKDR) and blockchain/Web3 initiatives
# OristaPay (RD Wallet)
OristaPay has launched its Global Collection product, supporting both fiat and stablecoin cross-border payments, with 24/7 liquidity—especially deep in African and Latin American markets.
- Accepts payments in 100+ currencies across 200+ countries/regions
- Accepts major stablecoins with rapid settlement capability; performs real-time AML/KYT compliance screening
- Global Collection specific fees undisclosed
RD InnoTech Stablecoin Issuance — HKDR
RD InnoTech was selected as a founding member of the HKMA’s Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox—alongside Standard Chartered/Animoca/HKT (HKDG) and JD CoinLink (JD-HKD).
Stablecoin regulatory timeline:
- December 2022: HKMA issued SVF license (SVF0016)
- July 2024: Selected for HKMA Stablecoin Issuer Sandbox (founding cohort)
- August 2025: Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance officially enacted
- September 2025: Brand restructuring—OristaPay and RD InnoTech formally separated
- January 2026: OristaPay Global Collection launched with stablecoin support
# Key Partnerships
ZA Global co-led RD Technologies’ $40 million Series A2 round. Signed MoU with ZA Bank:
- Reserve custody: ZA Bank provides custodial services for HKDR reserve assets
- Distribution: ZA Bank explores becoming a sales/distribution partner for HKDR
Other partners: Allinpay International, Ripple, Circle Payment Network (CPN)
IV. Appendix: Comparative Fee & Speed Analysis Across Cross-Border Payment Providers
Fee Comparison: $100 Sent from Overseas to Mainland China (Lowest Available Fees)
Scenario: Sending $100 USD from overseas to a mainland Chinese bank account, using each company’s lowest applicable fee per step.
Notes:
- XTransfer’s 0.1% settlement fee requires minimum transaction volume; standard fee caps at 0.4%
- WorldFirst’s $0 total fee applies only to personal Alipay withdrawals; B2B bank withdrawals charge 0.3% (B2C) or 0.4% (B2B)
- Yeepay’s local payment method fees range 0.6%–1.6%; CNY settlement fee not disclosed
- LianLian’s 0.3% settlement fee applies only to high-volume users; standard fee caps at 0.7%
- RD Technologies has not disclosed fees or settlement timelines
Fee Comparison: $100 Sent from Overseas to Mainland China (Highest Fees)
Notes:
- Airwallex’s SWIFT fee is flat $25 per transaction; at $100, this represents 25%—reasonable for larger transfers
- Yeepay’s credit card acquiring: base rate 3.8% + $0.30 + 1% cross-border surcharge + 3% currency conversion = $8.10 on $100
- LianLian’s Wish Payout fee cap is 0.75%; settlement fee cap is 0.7%
- RD Technologies’ TT wire including correspondent bank fees: HKD 400 (~$51.28); no domestic CNY settlement service offered
Speed Comparison: Overseas to Mainland China (Fastest)
Speed Comparison: Overseas to Mainland China (Slowest)
Notes:
- XTransfer’s X2X requires both sender and receiver to be XTransfer platform users
- WorldFirst’s 1-minute Alipay settlement applies only to personal Alipay accounts—not corporate bank accounts
- Yeepay’s fastest transfers are constrained by T+1 to T+2 CNY settlement timelines
- RD Technologies offers no domestic CNY settlement service—timelines apply only to Hong Kong
- SWIFT remains the bottleneck for all companies’ slowest paths—adding 1–7 days pre-FX/settlement
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