A New Era for Global Payments

The global payments industry is vast, moving trillions of dollars every single day. Yet for many companies, especially when dealing with emerging markets, the experience of moving money across borders feels stuck in the past. Transfers can take days to arrive, fees and FX spreads erode margins, and finance teams are left with little transparency into where funds are or what they actually cost.

The reality is that most international B2B payments still flow through legacy bank infrastructure, often via long chains of correspondent banks. This system is slow, expensive, and opaque by design. While fintechs have started to challenge the incumbents — building smoother user interfaces and offering sharper FX pricing — the underlying rails remain the same. For businesses operating globally, the pain points are clear: slow settlement, lack of transparency, and high costs.

New Technologies Emerge

Change is coming. Over the past few years, new technologies have emerged that fundamentally rethink how money can move. Blockchain in particular offers an entirely new set of capabilities for payments: near-instant settlement, 24/7 availability, programmability, and global reach.

One of the most promising use cases of blockchain in payments is stablecoins. A stablecoin is a digital currency designed to maintain a stable value relative to a traditional asset, usually a fiat currency like the US dollar or euro. Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, stablecoins are built to serve as reliable mediums of exchange.

And they are no longer a fringe crypto experiment. With a record market capitalization, growing liquidity, and adoption by major institutions — from Visa and Stripe to JPMorgan and PayPal — stablecoins are fast becoming a core part of the global payments ecosystem.

Why Stablecoins Matter for Payments

Stablecoins address many of the weaknesses of the current system. Settlement can happen in seconds rather than days. Transactions are available around the clock, not just during banking hours. Fees can be dramatically lower, particularly for cross-border flows that currently pass through multiple intermediaries.

Transparency is another key advantage. On-chain transactions are traceable in real time, making it easier to track funds and reduce reconciliation complexity. For businesses, this translates into better cash flow predictability, improved working capital management, and a more efficient finance function.

Stablecoins will not replace traditional infrastructure overnight. But they provide an increasingly compelling alternative — and when combined with existing rails, they unlock powerful new possibilities.

Riva's Approach: Dual-Rail Systems

At Riva, we believe the future of payments is not about ideology — blockchain versus traditional rails — but pragmatism. Businesses do not care about the technology in itself; they care about speed, cost, transparency, and reliability.

That is why we are building a dual-rail infrastructure that orchestrates payments across both traditional networks (e.g. SEPA, SWIFT, ACH) and blockchain-based stablecoin rails. For each transaction, our system dynamically selects the best available route. A transfer from London to Singapore might move on-chain in near real time, while a transfer to New York may be faster and cheaper via established fiat rails.

This dual-rail approach ensures flexibility and resilience. Companies benefit from the efficiency of stablecoins without having to abandon the security and familiarity of traditional systems. The result: faster, cheaper, and more transparent payments, with no trade-off in compliance or reliability.

Regulation Catches Up

A critical factor in the mainstreaming of stablecoins is regulation. For years, lack of clarity held back adoption. That is now changing rapidly.

In the U.S., the GENIUS Act of 2025 introduced the first federal framework for stablecoins, establishing clear rules for issuers and payment institutions.

In Europe, MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) has come into effect, providing harmonized regulation across the EU.

The UK is rolling out its own stablecoin regime, while Switzerland has already built a robust framework for digital asset service providers.

This regulatory momentum gives institutions confidence to engage at scale. Deeper, regulated liquidity pools are forming, creating a safer and more mature ecosystem for businesses to rely on.

The Wider Impact

The benefits of stablecoins and blockchain payments extend beyond efficiency. They open new possibilities for treasury management — from instant liquidity to new hedging mechanisms. They also unlock financial inclusion: small businesses and individuals in underserved markets can gain access to fast, low-cost international transfers that were previously out of reach.

For global enterprises, the combination of reduced costs, improved transparency, and faster settlement is not just an operational improvement. It is a strategic enabler: supporting expansion into new markets, strengthening supplier and customer relationships, and giving finance teams a level of control they never had before.

A New Era for Global Payments

Global payments is one of the last great industries still constrained by legacy infrastructure. That constraint is now breaking. Stablecoins and dual-rail systems represent not just an incremental upgrade but a fundamental shift in how money moves.

The companies that adapt early will gain a competitive edge — faster settlement, lower costs, and full transparency in their financial flows. Those that fail to evolve risk being left behind in a system that is moving at internet speed.

A new era for global payments has already begun. The question is not if, but how quickly businesses are ready to embrace it.