With a distinguished career spanning banking and international finance, Priya Jaiswal has become a leading voice in analyzing the tectonic shifts reshaping the digital payments industry. Her expertise in market trends and portfolio management provides a unique lens through which to view the convergence of traditional financial infrastructure with disruptive technologies. Today, she shares her perspective on the evolving landscape, focusing on the critical role of value-added services, the integration of emerging technologies like stablecoins to reduce cross-border friction, and the delicate balance between rapid innovation and global regulatory compliance.
You mentioned that what truly sets a modern payment network apart is what’s offered “beyond the rails.” Could you share a specific example of a value-added service and walk us through how it helps a business navigate the complex payments ecosystem more effectively?
Absolutely. It’s a crucial distinction. The “rails” are the basic infrastructure, the tracks that money travels on. But “beyond the rails” is where the real value lies for a business. Think of it like this: a business owner trying to expand globally doesn’t just need a way to send money; they need a trusted partner to handle the immense complexity. A key value-added service is a sophisticated, AI-driven risk and compliance engine. This service doesn’t just process a payment; it vets it against global regulations, performs real-time fraud checks, and manages currency conversion complexities seamlessly. For a small e-commerce shop, this is a lifesaver. It takes the terrifying burden of navigating dozens of different regulatory environments off their shoulders, making a transaction to another continent feel as safe and simple as a domestic one.
In October, we saw the integration of stablecoins like USDC for faster business funding. What specific friction points in traditional cross-border transactions does this solve, and can you detail the step-by-step process of how this technology makes funding more efficient for a global business?
The friction in traditional cross-border payments is immense; it’s a system built on decades-old processes. Businesses face long settlement delays, often three to five business days, where their capital is just locked in transit. There are also high fees and a frustrating lack of transparency. Stablecoins directly attack these pain points. The process becomes incredibly streamlined: a business can initiate a payment, and the funds are converted to a stablecoin like USDC. That digital asset is then sent over a blockchain network, settling in minutes, not days, regardless of banking hours or holidays. The receiving business can then convert those stablecoins back into their local currency. This eradicates the agonizing wait and uncertainty, fundamentally changing how a company can manage its cash flow and operate on a global scale.
Your November pilot program enables stablecoin payouts for creators and gig workers. What key pain points does this address for this demographic, and could you share any early metrics or anecdotes on how it has significantly reduced the time for them to access their earnings?
The creator and gig economy operates at the speed of the internet, but until now, their payments have been stuck on the slow lane of traditional banking. The primary pain point for a freelancer or creator is the agonizing delay between earning money and actually having it in their account. They often operate on tight budgets and can’t afford to wait for a standard bank transfer to clear. This is where stablecoin payouts are a true game-changer. The system allows platforms to pay them almost instantaneously. Imagine finishing a project and seeing the funds land in your digital wallet within minutes. While specific pilot metrics are often kept close to the vest, the impact is clear. It’s the difference between being able to pay a bill on time or facing a late fee, giving creators the financial agility they need to thrive.
You highlighted being at the forefront of emerging technologies like AI while also having deep regulatory expertise. How does your team balance the rapid pace of innovation with global compliance, and can you provide an example of where this expertise was critical in launching a new feature?
That balance is the tightrope walk that defines modern fintech. You can’t have one without the other. True innovation in finance isn’t just about building exciting technology; it’s about building trusted, scalable, and compliant technology. The key is to embed regulatory and compliance experts into the product development process from the very beginning, not as an afterthought. For instance, when launching the stablecoin payout programs, the challenge wasn’t just the blockchain engineering. The critical piece was building a robust compliance framework around it. This meant integrating stringent identity verification and anti-money laundering checks directly into the payment flow. This deep regulatory expertise ensured the feature wasn’t just a tech demo but a viable financial product that could be rolled out responsibly and globally.
What is your forecast for the role stablecoins will play in mainstream cross-border consumer and B2B payments over the next five years?
Over the next five years, I believe stablecoins will transition from being a novel solution on the fringes to becoming a core pillar of the global payments infrastructure. We are already witnessing their power in B2B funding and creator economy payouts, where they solve very tangible problems of speed and efficiency. The natural evolution is for them to become more integrated into mainstream consumer use cases, particularly for international remittances and cross-border e-commerce. They won’t necessarily replace traditional payment rails overnight, but they will function as a vital, high-speed alternative. My forecast is that stablecoins will become the default choice for transactions where legacy systems are too slow or expensive, dramatically improving financial access and unlocking enormous economic potential for individuals and businesses worldwide.
