A business can send data, products, and services to a customer on the other side of the globe in seconds, but sending money across borders still takes days. With the global cross-border payments market projected to reach nearly $290 trillion by 2030, the pressure to modernize is growing. That’s where stablecoins, digital currencies designed to maintain a steady value, can come in.
Stablecoins make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and easier to track. As more payment platforms and financial networks open to stablecoins, global payouts are finally starting to operate at internet speed. Below, you’ll learn what stablecoins are, how they work, how businesses are already using them, and what challenges still lie ahead.
What’s in this article?
- What are global payouts, and why do stablecoins matter?
- How do stablecoins simplify cross-border payouts?
- Why are global payouts still so complicated?
- How do stablecoins improve transparency and traceability in payments?
- How can businesses integrate stablecoins into their payout systems?
- How are businesses already incorporating stablecoins into their payout systems?
- What challenges could slow down stablecoin adoption in payouts?
What are global payouts, and why do stablecoins matter?
Global payouts are cross-border payments businesses make to recipients in other countries, often in different currencies.
Unlike more volatile cryptocurrency assets, a stablecoin is pegged to something familiar, usually the US dollar. The issuer of a fiat-pegged stablecoin holds an equivalent reserve in cash or short-term assets for every token issued. If you own 100 USD Coin (USDC), for example, that represents $100 held somewhere in cash.
Stablecoins combine the reliability of traditional money with the speed and openness of blockchain networks. They’re essentially a universal settlement layer for the internet: they let value move instantly and globally. That opens a path for more efficient payouts, easier access to fiat, and a better financial experience for people and businesses operating across borders.
Stablecoins are on the rise for those reasons. The stablecoin market cap exceeded $210 billion at the end of 2024 with 57% year-on-year growth.
How do stablecoins simplify cross-border payouts?
Stablecoins bypass the maze of global banking with a single system for value transfer.
Here’s how they make the system simpler:
- Instant settlement: Stablecoin transactions typically finalize within minutes, regardless of geography. There’s no waiting for banking windows or handoffs. The payment lands as soon as the blockchain confirms it.
- Lower costs: Moving money with stablecoins costs pennies compared to traditional wire transfer or card fees. You won’t find hidden foreign exchange (FX) markups draining value along the way.
- One stable currency: Using a USD-pegged stablecoin means global partners can transact in the same unit of account. Businesses can pay everyone in digital dollars instead of juggling conversions across multiple currencies.
- Always on: Blockchain networks don’t shut down on weekends or holidays. Payouts go through anytime, which keeps cash flow steady across time zones and business hours.
- Simpler infrastructure: Instead of maintaining dozens of banking integrations, a company can connect once to a stablecoin network and reach recipients anywhere.
Why are global payouts still so complicated?
The way we send money globally is based on legacy systems designed decades ago for a slower, smaller world.
Here’s what keeps things complicated:
- Outdated infrastructure: Many international payments still run on the SWIFT network, which sends money via multiple correspondent banks. Each one adds steps, fees, and delays. In 2024, only about half of cross-border transfers on SWIFT settled within one hour.
- Excessive fees: The average transaction fee for B2B cross-border payments was 1.6% in 2024. But since every intermediary takes a slice, the total cost can climb a lot higher, especially for remittances or small-value transfers.
- Fragmented systems: Every country operates its own payment infrastructure and regulations. Moving money across them requires compatibility checks, local intermediaries, and sometimes manual reviews that slow everything down.
- Opaque processes: Once a payment leaves your account, it disappears into a black box. Tracking it through multiple banking systems is cumbersome and often impossible in real time.
- Limited access: Not everyone has access to reliable bank accounts. Even when funds do move internationally, they can’t always land where they need to.
How do stablecoins improve transparency and traceability in payments?
Stablecoins emerged as a direct response to global banking pain points by turning a multi-day, multi-fee process into something faster and cheaper.
Here’s what stablecoins offer:
- On-chain visibility: Every stablecoin transfer is recorded on a public blockchain, which creates a permanent, transparent record. Anyone with a transaction ID can see when funds were sent, received, and confirmed.
- Real-time tracking: Businesses don’t have to rely on bank updates or wait for reconciliation reports. They can monitor payouts and see exactly when recipients get their money.
- Built-in audit trail: Each transaction is time-stamped and verifiable. This makes accounting, reporting, and compliance reviews far simpler.
- Better fraud detection: Blockchain analytics tools can flag suspicious activity across the network, which improves compliance oversight and helps reduce fraud and money-laundering risks.
How can businesses integrate stablecoins into their payout systems?
Stablecoin infrastructure has matured to the point where integration can be as light-touch or as hands-on as a company needs. Even with stablecoins, businesses need to follow Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and sanctions requirements. Recipients might also need ways to turn stablecoins into local currency, so it’s worth working with partners that provide reliable conversion routes into local banking systems.
In practice, the simplest route is to work with a provider that handles blockchain payouts. The provider handles conversion, compliance, and custody in the background. Businesses can connect directly to a stablecoin application programming interface (API) that lets them convert fiat to stablecoin and send payments programmatically to any wallet address, all within existing payout workflows.
How are businesses already incorporating stablecoins into their payout systems?
Many global companies are already using stablecoins to move money faster and more efficiently.
Here are a few examples:
- Online marketplaces: Digital marketplaces that once struggled to pay international sellers are now using stablecoins to reach countries where traditional banking access is limited. A marketplace platform, for example, can send USDC to sellers from Argentina to Zambia within minutes, bypassing bank fees and currency conversion losses. Sellers get paid in a stable digital dollar they can hold or convert locally.
- Freelance and remote work platforms: Distributed teams are another early adopter. Freelancers across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America receive payouts in stablecoins instead of waiting days for wire transfers. This gives them immediate access to earnings and, in high-inflation economies, a way to preserve value with a dollar-backed asset.
- Corporate treasury and global payroll: Some multinational companies now use stablecoins internally to balance liquidity across subsidiaries. Moving digital dollars between business units takes minutes instead of days. Stablecoins allow instant, same-day disbursement of global payroll to overseas staff.
- Financial platforms and fintechs: Payment providers such as Stripe are integrating stablecoins directly into their global payout networks. A business can use Stripe’s existing dashboard and APIs to send stablecoin payouts to supported regions without managing wallets, blockchain keys, or compliance in-house.
What challenges could slow down stablecoin adoption in payouts?
Stablecoins still face some barriers from structural issues, regulatory changes, and uncertainty from the general public.
Here are some of the challenges:
- Regulatory uncertainty: Rules for issuing and using stablecoins vary widely across countries. Some governments are building clear frameworks; others are still deciding how to classify them. Until global standards emerge, businesses will need partners that handle compliance across borders.
- Trust and transparency: Confidence in a stablecoin depends on the credibility of its reserves. The leading issuers publish third-party attestations of their holdings, but trust still needs to be earned through consistent transparency and oversight.
- Conversion and accessibility: Not every market has reliable on- and off-ramps for turning stablecoins into local currency. Where exchanges or banking integrations are limited, recipients can face extra difficulty turning them into spendable form.
- Perception and education: “Crypto” still signals volatility to many finance leaders. Businesses adopting stablecoins need clear communication and good design.
Bridge enables businesses to send and receive stablecoin payouts instantly across borders to even the most hard-to-reach markets—all at a low cost. Learn more about how Bridge powers faster, cheaper cross-border payments here.
Bridge is not a bank. The Prepaid Debit Visa Card is issued by Lead Bank and managed by Bridge Ventures, LLC. Fees may apply. See www.bridge.xyz/legal for more details.
The content in this article is for general information and education purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Bridge does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy, or currency of the information in the article. You should seek the advice of a competent attorney or accountant licensed to practice in your jurisdiction for advice on your particular situation.
Request demo
