Japan's Financial Services Agency has made blockchain-based finance a policy priority for 2026, while SWIFT simultaneously tests its blockchain ledger platform with Citibank and MUFG for 24-hour cross-border payments with faster transfers and lower fees.
India is advocating for linking central bank digital currencies across BRICS nations for cross-border payments at the September 12-13 summit in New Delhi, while explicitly rejecting proposals for a common BRICS currency or unified payment network. The approach favors bilateral digital currency settlements and local currency trade.
Payment services provider Bottomline is integrating Chainlink technology to bring its network of over 600 banking institutions and $16 trillion in annual payment volume onto blockchain networks. The partnership will enable banks to access blockchain-based cross-border settlement while continuing to use existing payment messaging systems.
Diameter Pay, a stablecoin payments infrastructure startup focused on cross-border transfers, has raised $10 million in Series A funding co-led by CMT Digital and Lightspeed. The company provides embedded payments infrastructure that routes cross-border transfers for banks using crypto rails.
Dunamu, operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has entered a strategic partnership with Visa to develop stablecoin-based payment systems, cross-border remittances, and AI-driven financial services. The roadmap unveiled in San Francisco includes OUSD-based business models and agentic commerce initiatives.
South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group has signed a strategic agreement with Visa to test stablecoin issuance, remittances and redemptions using Visa's stablecoin platform, while also developing AI-powered payment models for the Korean market.
The People's Bank of China has authorized eight additional commercial banks to operate digital yuan services, bringing the total number of e-CNY operating institutions to 30. The expansion includes Ping An Bank, Hengfeng Bank, and China Zheshang Bank as Beijing accelerates adoption of its central bank digital currency for everyday and cross-border transactions.
SBI Digital Practice and South Korea's Nodeinfra have agreed to jointly develop a cross-border payment and settlement network between Japan and South Korea using Canton Network infrastructure, beginning with test tokens.
BRICS nations are discussing linking their central bank digital currencies and fast payment systems to reduce cross-border transaction costs, according to Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
Mastercard is testing its Crypto Credential standards-based identity framework with stablecoin orchestration network Borderless.xyz to enable trusted cross-border stablecoin payments through shared compliance and verification signals. The pilot aims to help wallet providers, liquidity networks, and transfer services verify counterparties in stablecoin transactions.
Visa is adding stablecoin prefunding and payout capabilities to its Visa Direct platform through a collaboration with onchain infrastructure provider Zerohash, enabling eligible clients to conduct cross-border payments using stablecoins across 195 countries.
The Bank of Italy conducted a study testing 200 USDC remittances across 10 international payment corridors, finding that total costs varied widely from 0.3% to nearly 9% of the transaction amount, challenging assumptions that stablecoins are necessarily cheaper for cross-border payments.
A July 2026 study by Banca d'Italia testing 200 USDC transfers across 10 international payment corridors found total costs ranged from 0.3% to nearly 9%, questioning whether stablecoins consistently offer cheaper or faster remittances than traditional payment rails.
South Korea's largest bank, KB Kookmin Bank, will launch a blockchain-based cross-border payment service for import and export companies in August 2026 using JPMorgan's Kinexys network. The service will initially handle U.S. dollar payments to 10 countries.
A new PhotonPay research report documents how stablecoin-based multi-rail payment systems are cutting African cross-border B2B settlement costs from $5-$15+ to under $1 and reducing settlement times from days to minutes, as companies like Lumepay launch institutional payment solutions targeting the continent's fragmented commercial trade infrastructure.
The European Union approved its 21st sanctions package against Russia on July 23, 2026, imposing transaction bans on 14 cryptocurrency service platforms across six jurisdictions and blacklisting the A7 cross-border payments network and its A7A5 stablecoin for alleged sanctions evasion.
Tiger Global led a $180 million Series B valuing Augustus at $1 billion, funding its bid to become a federally chartered stablecoin clearing bank, Augustus Bank, N.A., with OCC conditional approval secured in May 2026.
Diaspora remittance platform LemFi is transitioning its cross-border settlement operations to stablecoin rails through a partnership with BVNK, replacing traditional multi-day correspondent banking with near-instant, lower-cost settlement.
Ripple and Bitso are expanding their payments partnership by integrating Bitso's Mexican peso-backed stablecoin MXNB onto the XRP Ledger's decentralized exchange, targeting regulated liquidity for cross-border settlement in the US-Mexico corridor.
Mastercard is enhancing its stablecoin settlement functionality to support regulated stablecoins including Circle's USDC, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFi's offerings for credit card transactions and cross-border payments. The expansion comes as payment giants Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are reportedly backing a new stablecoin platform that Coinbase is considering joining.
India has halted Alipay+'s proposal to integrate with its instant payments system for cross-border transactions, citing national security concerns and questions about customer data storage and usage. Law enforcement agencies raised political grounds for blocking the integration.
