Cross-border Payments

Trump-affiliated venture World Liberty Financial is preparing to launch a blockchain-powered remittance and foreign exchange platform called World Swap, aiming squarely at the $9 trillion-a-day global Forex market.

The UAE Central Bank has approved the dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC, which is now live on ADI Chain for institutional and government use. It will be used for payments, settlements, trade, and programmable financial services, and will be available to FAB customers through approved platforms.

Malaysia is positioning itself at the forefront of Islamic-compliant digital finance with the launch of a regulatory sandbox dedicated to developing ringgit-pegged stablecoins that incorporate Shariah principles.

The EU plans to sanction two Kyrgyz banks and several other foreign lenders for helping Russia move money through crypto and bypass existing sanctions. It also wants to block all crypto transactions linked to Russia, including stablecoins and the digital rouble, to close this route for payments and trade.

The TON Foundation has launched TON Pay, a new payments tool that lets people pay with Toncoin and USDT directly inside Telegram Mini Apps, without leaving the app or using separate wallets. The system aims to make in-app crypto payments faster and cheaper, with near-instant transactions and fees below one cent.

KBank has filed new trademarks for stablecoin wallets and related digital finance services as it prepares for its third IPO attempt, targeting a KOSPI listing on 5 March 2026. The internet-only bank is expanding into stablecoin payments and cross-border transfers as part of a wider push to grow its digital asset business.

The UAE central bank has approved USDU, the country’s first US dollar-backed stablecoin, allowing regulated institutions to use it for digital asset payments and settlement. Issued by Universal Digital and fully backed by US dollars held in local banks, the token operates under strict regulatory oversight.

OKX has launched OKX Pay and OKX Card in Europe, allowing users to spend stablecoins at Mastercard merchants and access DeFi and tokenised assets where regulations allow. The services operate under EU rules with mandatory KYC checks, combining everyday payments with regulated crypto use.

Leaders at the World Economic Forum said billions of AI agents are likely to start making payments on their own, and current banking systems are too slow and manual to support that shift. They argued that stablecoins and crypto networks are the most practical way to handle fast, automated and global payments for AI-driven activity.

Jeremy Allaire argues yield-bearing stablecoins boost adoption without threatening traditional banking, as AI-driven payments loom on the horizon.