In Part 1, we examined how traditional cross-border payments work: the reliance on SWIFT, correspondent banks, and card networks like Visa and Mastercard, and the frictions that persist, particularly in emerging markets.
In this piece, we explore how blockchain can complement, and in some cases materially improve, these existing rails. By reducing inefficiencies and introducing new capabilities, blockchain expands what is possible within global payments infrastructure.
Inefficiencies and Untapped Opportunity
Despite decades of technical progress, global payment corridors remain uneven. Routes between major economies are typically fast and reliable, but flows involving emerging markets - or flows into the Global South - are often slower, more expensive, and less transparent.
Small-value remittances illustrate this clearly. These transactions are disproportionately costly (~6.49% for a $200 transaction in March 2025), largely due to the reliance on pre-funded accounts and chains of intermediary banks. The issue is not that the system is outdated; rather, it was designed for a different era - one that didn’t anticipate today’s expectations around speed, transparency, and accessibility.
It's like passing a banknote through six different cashiers, each taking a cut before it reaches the other side. Each additional intermediary increases complexity. More capital is locked up, more fees are added, and visibility into the transaction decreases.
For individuals sending modest sums home, these structures shape how and even if money moves, directly affecting pricing and availability.
For businesses, the implications are broader. Billions of dollars remain tied up ‘in transit’ globally at any given moment, reducing treasury capital allocation efficiency, inflating working capital requirements, and in some cases even affecting credit conditions.
The Benefits of Blockchain Rails
Blockchain isn’t going to replace all existing payment systems – but the integration of blockchain rails can make many processes better.
Unlike traditional networks, which rely on interconnected but fragmented national and regional ledgers, blockchain enables settlement on shared, synchronised infrastructure in the form of an auditable global ledger. This allows value to move more directly between counterparties, reducing reliance on intermediary institutions.
One emerging model is what some call a ‘stablecoin sandwich’: fiat in Country A is converted to tokenized fiat on a global ledger and then converted back to local currency in Country B. The process can reduce settlement times, improve transparency, and lower costs – particularly in corridors where traditional infrastructure is weakest.
These improvements are especially meaningful in emerging markets, where traditional rails are weak, uneconomic, or even non-existent. In developed countries, users take for granted the ability to send money easily. But, for billions across the globe, there simply isn’t the infrastructure available for users to spend, save, or move their money. The financial plumbing just doesn’t reach the building.
In these contexts, the savings that blockchain can yield are particularly valuable. Even after accounting for on/off-ramp fees, the overall experience can be faster, more transparent, and in some cases more affordable. To illustrate, Tether reported that USDT added approximately 35 million net new users in Q4 2025, primarily in the emerging markets.
For businesses, speed is transformative. Faster settlement means treasury operations can be optimised, working capital can be deployed more efficiently, and firms can free up capital that would otherwise be held in transit. Programmability adds another layer of sophistication – enabled using smart contracts – that allow for the automation of complex payment workflows in ways that traditional processes couldn’t.
TON: A Blockchain Built with Global Scale in Mind
TON is particularly well positioned to contribute to a more efficient global payments landscape.
TON is a high-throughput, low-cost layer-one blockchain designed for global-scale transaction volumes. Its architecture is designed for billions of users, making it suitable for consumer-facing applications where speed and cost are critical.
What further sets TON apart is its integration with Telegram. In many regions, especially across emerging markets, many businesses already use Telegram to coordinate trade and conduct negotiations. However, payments typically happen separately through traditional bank wires or other financial tools.
By integrating TON-based payments seamlessly into the messenger environment, TON enables transactions to occur within the same interface as communication. Businesses can now keep both negotiation and payment under the same roof, streamlining workflows and reducing friction.
With access to over a billion monthly active users on Telegram, TON presents an unparalleled opportunity to reach consumers and businesses who are currently underserved by traditional banking systems – but are able to get their hands on a mobile phone.
Merchant-to-consumer payments, cross-border supplier payments, and automated payout systems all become possible in ways that were previously cumbersome or impossible. Rather than attempting to overthrow traditional payment rails, blockchain complements them, making them smarter, faster, and more inclusive.
Improve, Don’t Overthrow
Global payments are not universally broken. In many developed corridors, like intra-Europe or between major economies, they are highly efficient, reliable, and deeply trusted.
The opportunity lies in improving the system where it falls short: expanding access into underserved regions, reducing costs, increasing transparency, and improving capital efficiency.
Blockchain doesn’t need to replace existing rails to have an impact – but it can make them significantly better. Its role is to enhance them, making global payments more flexible, efficient, and more accessible to a broader set of users - delivering tangible benefits for both businesses and consumers in the Global South and beyond.
