Battle between Stablecoins and Wise for supremacy in cross-border payment solutions
In the ever-evolving world of finance, stablecoins are making significant strides, challenging traditional providers and offering novel advantages in speed, cost, borderlessness, and 24/7 availability.
One such player in the field is Wise (formerly Transferwise), bypassing the Swift system for cheaper cross-border payments. However, Wise transactions often take several hours to two days due to bank processing times, a stark contrast to the near-instant settlement offered by stablecoins.
Stablecoins, such as USDC, USDT, and PYUSD, enable global, low-cost payments without bank intermediaries. They are backed by reserves of traditional currencies, allowing for internal calculations of money transfers that reduce costs and improve transparency.
However, stablecoins are not without their challenges. Hidden costs include slippage, insufficient liquidity on centralized exchanges, direct fees for on-ramping and off-ramping, and unfavourable exchange rates due to lack of liquidity or high market volatility.
Vortex, a decentralized off-ramp solution for stablecoins, connects users worldwide to local bank transfers, addressing one of the key limitations of stablecoins. Vortex is part of the Satoshipay incubator, led by Florian Beba, the Chief Strategy Officer at Satoshipay.
PayPal has also joined the stablecoin bandwagon, introducing its own stablecoin, PYUSD. Major payment providers like Visa and MasterCard are also exploring the use of stablecoins for global payments, indicating a shift towards hybrid models where regulated financial service providers might use stablecoins as technology.
Ripple (XRP) focuses more on blockchain-based payment solutions for banks, while stablecoins cater more to the needs of the unbanked and digital economic sectors.
In 2025, stablecoin usage globally grew by 21.7%, driven significantly by inflation concerns and remittance demand. Transaction volumes surged from about $982 billion in January 2025 to $1.39 trillion by May 2025, and aggregate stablecoin supply increased from $204 billion to $252 billion in the first half of 2025.
Despite this growth, daily stablecoin transactions still represent less than 1% of global money flows, roughly $30 billion daily, indicating room for growth before widespread disruption of traditional providers like Wise.
Stablecoins offer significant potential, but they are still maturing, primarily used within crypto trading ecosystems (over 90%) with modest retail payment use. Wise, on the other hand, has a well-established retail and business client base.
Stablecoins face regulatory and operational risks, with concerns around operational security, compliance, and issuer credibility. However, these risks are largely mitigated by regulated providers like Wise.
In conclusion, stablecoins are growing rapidly in adoption and transaction volume, offering transformative potential in global payments. They are a growing complementary alternative rather than a broad replacement of incumbent payment infrastructures, though the coming years may see their role expand materially and challenge incumbents depending on regulatory evolution and infrastructure development.
Stablecoin transaction fees are nearly free on blockchains with low fees like Polygon or Base, making them an attractive option for cost-conscious users. Vortex enables fast, low-cost, and secure payments from stablecoins to traditional currencies, further enhancing their appeal.
As the landscape of global payments continues to evolve, stablecoins are poised to play a significant role, offering speed, cost efficiency, and accessibility to a broader user base.
In the realm of business and finance, stablecoins like USDC, USDT, and PYUSD, backed by traditional currencies, are transitioning lifestyle practices by enabling global, low-cost payments without intermediary banks, offering potential advantages of reduced costs, improved transparency, and speed. Meanwhile, technology innovations, such as Vortex, a decentralized off-ramp solution for stablecoins, aim to address key limitations by connecting users worldwide to local bank transfers.
As the global payments sector expands, technology companies, including major players like PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard, are investigating the use of stablecoins, signaling a potential shift towards hybrid models where regulated financial service providers could leverage stablecoins as technology for business transactions.
