Cross-Border Cash Without Prefunding? A New Wave

by

Finance

What to know:

  • Arf, a Swiss liquidity provider, is joining Circle Payments Network to offer on-demand credit for cross-border payments, eliminating the need for prefunding.
  • The company will work with Huma’s Payment Finance network.
  • Users will avoid having to tie up large fiat balances before settlement occurs.

In the harbor town of Singapore, where the air tastes of rain on tin roofs and the numbers drift like dust in the sun, Arf-the patient fellow who keeps coins moving when the world wants to quit-takes a seat at Circle’s table. They’re not promising a miracle, just another path around the long, stubborn line: on-demand credit for cross-border payments, so you don’t have to stuff fiat into a vault and pretend the vault isn’t heavy with time. It’s the kind of trick that makes a man nod, then smirk, and say, well, maybe the world isn’t all thunder after all. 😂💼

The arrangement, powered by Huma Finance’s PayFi network, is meant to cut the drag from settlement delays and make cross-border stablecoin settlements leaner and quicker. Irfan Ganchi, a man who speaks in the measured cadence of a oiled machine, says Circle-issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap-wants the gears to turn with less friction and more honesty.

At its core, this is an attempt to tame a stubborn beast: moving money fast across borders without starving the treasury. Scale the road of capital, and the potholes of prefunding shrink. Visa, that old giant in the sleeping city, is dipping a toe into similar waters with a prefunding pilot for stablecoins through Visa Direct, proving the current runs both ways and the rivers don’t hold their opinions for long.

By letting on-demand credit flow inside a major stablecoin network, Arf-under Switzerland’s vigilant watch of the Financial Services Standard Association (VQF)-and Huma are pushing for same-day USDC settlement. Institutions may finally loosen their working capital, trim costs, and hurry payments along as if the clock itself were in on the joke. Circle Forum in Singapore becomes a campfire where bankers and technologists swap tall tales about the future, and the future, in turn, smiles and winks back.

Real-time, reliable stablecoin payments and the shed of prefunding hurdles have long been the gossip of crypto and fintech. This partnership, with its regulated partners and a direct line into a major stablecoin network, feels like a notable turn in a story that’s getting longer by the day. It isn’t a cure-all, but it’s a sturdy boat on a restless sea. 🐑💨

Stablecoin boom

USDC holds a market value of $73.26 billion. Unlike some other cryptocurrencies, USDC operates within regulated frameworks, offering greater reliability and trust.

The adoption of stablecoins in cross-border transactions and other user cases beyond trading has been steadily growing.

According to Payments Consulting Network, 90% of financial institutions have actively integrated stablecoins, with nearly half already using them for payments. Traditional banks are twice as likely to prioritize cross-border payments, with 58% using stablecoins specifically for international transfers.

According to Treasury & Risk, the overall market for stablecoins is poised to hit $3 trillion by 2028.

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2025-09-30 19:48