The future of global money movement will be hybrid
I see a lot of excitable headlines saying that stablecoins are the future of cross-border money movement. As someone who moved from working in traditional finance into stablecoins, I don’t mind this sentiment at all. But as always, reality is more complicated — and more interesting.
Here are some thoughts on the case for hybrid fiat + stablecoin cross-border money movement.
Why stablecoins are changing the game
Stablecoins make it quicker, cheaper, and more transparent to move money across borders in a lot of use cases. Settlement that once took days can happen in minutes. Fees that were opaque and layered can be reduced to a fraction of the cost. And for businesses operating across multiple markets — particularly in regions where correspondent banking infrastructure is thin — stablecoins offer a genuinely better path.
Traditional bank cross-border systems are slow, expensive, and opaque for specific, structural reasons. Intermediary chains, cut-off times, and currency conversion spreads all add friction. For many of the enterprise clients we work with, stablecoins have materially changed how they move money.
Why traditional rails still matter for cross-border payments
However, there are also plenty of segments and use cases where our clients prefer sending money through traditional bank channels. In their specific context, these still make the most sense.
This decision can be informed by local market compliance considerations, established operational processes, institutional risk appetite, or the preferences of clients further up the chain. In regulated markets, particularly across Africa and Europe, these factors carry real weight. A CFO managing treasury for a multinational isn’t going to switch payment rails because the technology is exciting; they’ll switch when it’s proven, compliant, and fits their operational reality.
CrissCross: built for both fiat and stablecoin rails in South Africa
Earlier this year, CrissCross became one of the few cross-border payment providers in South Africa to hold both a Treasury Outsourcing Company (TOC) licence from the FSCA and a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) designation. That combination is genuinely rare, and it matters because it means we can process fiat-to-fiat payments via traditional bank channels alongside stablecoin-powered cross-border infrastructure, all under one roof.
We have a range of enterprise clients in South Africa who route their international payments through traditional channels. In the South African market context, this makes the most sense for them from an operations and compliance perspective. Rather than trying to convince them otherwise, we chose to meet them where they are, and provide differentiation through our technology, transparency, and client service.
Being able to offer both stablecoin and fiat rails through a single platform means our clients don’t have to choose. They can route payments through whichever channel best fits the corridor, the counterparty, the regulatory environment and the use case. That’s what a truly hybrid approach looks like.
The future is client-led
The cross-border payments landscape is evolving fast. Stablecoins are a major part of that evolution, and we’re proud to be at the forefront. But we’ve never believed that one technology solves every problem for every client in every market.
The businesses we serve operate in over 20 markets around the world. Their needs are diverse, their regulatory environments are complex, and their expectations are high. Our job is to give them the tools and the flexibility to move money in the way that works best for them.
Stablecoins are exciting. But being client-led is always more important.
If you’d like to explore which cross-border payment rails are right for your business, get in touch with our team at sales@crisscross.money.
