Indians working overseas send back more money home than those from other countries.

According to an estimate, Indians in various parts of the world, including the Gulf, the US, and Europe, remitted about $135 billion in FY25. It’s way ahead of Mexico, which is in second place with $68 billion, and China at $48 billion.

These remittances support families and take care of both major and day-to-day expenses, but sending money from another country is not as simple as making domestic NEFT and IMPS transactions.

Funds have to first move through remittance partners and then international banking channels. Many of these payments also travel through the international SWIFT system, which banks use to send payment instructions across countries.

The instructions go through quickly, but the money transfer itself takes much longer because it needs to pass through several banks before reaching the destination account.

Apart from that, banks follow their own business hours, which adds to the longer processing time.

Faster Settlements

Due to these delays, coupled with high transaction fees and foreign exchange charges, the need for a faster, more cost-effective, and 24/7 cross-border payment method has become more evident.

That’s why financial innovators have been exploring alternatives to the traditional payment infrastructure. One of them is stablecoins.

Stablecoins are digital tokens linked to regular currencies such as the US dollar and they move on blockchain networks that are available round the clock.

Large payment networks and fintech companies such as Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe are already testing this model by integrating stablecoins into their global payment infrastructure for faster transfers and settlements.

For families in India that depend on remittances, this could mean receiving funds within minutes.

Looking Beyond Working Hours

With stablecoins, the sender can convert funds into digital dollars and transfer them to a wallet of the recipient in India. The recipient can then convert them into rupees through local exchanges.

Large global banks are also testing this model. JPMorgan, for example, created a blockchain payment token called JPM Coin that allows institutional clients to move tokenised deposits across a blockchain network instead of routing payments through multiple banks.

Because the transfer happens on a blockchain network, it does not depend on bank operating hours. The transaction can move at any time of day.

This payment method can also help businesses that depend on cross-border payments. Many small manufacturers in India export goods to buyers in other countries. After shipping the products, they often wait several days before the payment arrives.

Stablecoin payments could reduce that waiting period. A buyer or client abroad could send the payment directly to a wallet address.

Removing Middlemen

This is one of the main differences from the traditional SWIFT route. SWIFT mainly carries payment instructions between banks, while the actual settlement happens through correspondent banking accounts.

Stablecoin transfers move the asset itself across the network, without requiring multiple banks in the middle.

The payment network also runs around the clock. Companies do not have to wait for bank cut-off times or holidays in different countries.

As far as India is concerned, the technology is already there. But whether this becomes common in India will depend on how regulations around stablecoins evolve.

This series is brought to you in partnership with Algorand.