Stablecoin Technology Powers First Cross-Border Payment via Wizz Financial, BitGo Partnership
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Wizz Financial has completed its first cross-border payment powered by stablecoin technology, marking a significant step toward faster and more efficient international money transfers. The transaction, originating in the United States and reaching 80 countries, was facilitated in partnership with BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., a digital asset trust bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
The move, announced Tuesday, leverages BitGo’s institutional-grade wallet infrastructure and e-trade services to convert traditional currency into stablecoins – cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, like the U.S. dollar. This allows for near-real-time settlement and improved liquidity management, according to Wizz Financial.
“The cross-border payments industry has been overdue for disruption,” said Amir Nagammy, Founder & CEO of Wizz Financial. “With this milestone transaction, Wizz Financial is proving that stablecoin technology, combined with robust regulatory compliance, can deliver what customers truly need: speed, transparency, and affordability at scale. We’re building the future of global remittances, and this is just the beginning.”
The transaction is the first launch of Wizz Financial’s proprietary stablecoin and blockchain strategy through its Wizz Cross Border USA platform, designed for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments. By integrating blockchain technology into its existing infrastructure, Wizz Financial aims to address longstanding issues of slow settlement times, lack of transparency, and high costs associated with traditional cross-border payments.
Ben Yaniv Chechik, Chief Technology Officer & Chief Product Officer of Wizz Financial, stated that the partnership with BitGo has created a “direct settlement system that fundamentally reimagines treasury operations.” He added that what previously took days now happens “in near-real-time.”
Nick Coombs, Managing Director at BitGo, expressed satisfaction with supporting Wizz Financial’s efforts to improve cross-border payments, emphasizing the security and compliance built into BitGo’s institutional platform.
Wizz Financial, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates and India, operates a hybrid neo-banking model with a network of over 500 branches and operates under more than 50 regulatory licenses worldwide. The company was co-founded by Amir Nagammy and Abu Dhabi Capital Group (ADCG).
The company clarified that this announcement and the related transaction do not apply to its operations in India and are solely undertaken by its overseas group entities in compliant jurisdictions.
This development comes as global remittances continue to be a vital source of income for many developing nations. According to the World Bank, remittances totaled $838 billion in 2023, representing a significant portion of the GDP for several countries. Innovations in cross-border payment technology, like the one pioneered by Wizz Financial and BitGo, have the potential to reduce the cost of these transfers and increase their efficiency, benefiting both senders and recipients.
