How Stablecoins Are Rewiring Global Payments – Insights from Borderless CPO Alex Garn
By [Your Name] – Jan 28 2026
In the latest episode of The Defiant Podcast, host Chris Storaker spoke with Alex Garn, Chief Product Officer at Borderless, about the quiet but accelerating transformation that stablecoins are bringing to cross‑border payments. The conversation, recorded in early 2026, offered a deep dive into the technical, regulatory, and operational foundations required to move value at scale across multiple jurisdictions.
Stablecoins as the New Bridge for International Money Flows
Stablecoins—digital assets pegged to fiat currencies—have long been touted as a way to combine the speed of blockchain transactions with the price stability of traditional money. Garn argues that the industry is moving beyond speculative use cases toward real‑world, high‑volume settlement.
- Speed and finality – Transactions that once took days through correspondent banking can now settle in minutes, often with cryptographic proof of finality.
- Cost efficiency – By bypassing legacy intermediaries, issuers and enterprises can shave the 2–5 % fees typically levied on SWIFT/Routing‑bank transfers.
- Currency‑agnostic routing – Stablecoins enable a single “digital lingua franca” that can be transferred across borders without the need for multiple FX conversions.
These advantages are prompting multinational corporates, remittance providers, and fintech platforms to experiment with stablecoin‑based pipelines for payroll, supplier payments, and cross‑border consumer transfers.
What It Takes to Move Money at Scale
Garn emphasized that the promise of stablecoins does not automatically translate into a production‑ready system. Several layers of infrastructure must be aligned:
| Layer | Core Requirements | Current Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Liquidity & On‑ramps | Deep pools of USDC, USDT, DAI, or region‑specific stablecoins; seamless fiat‑to‑crypto gateways. | Fragmented on‑ramps in emerging markets; limited supply of stablecoins in certain jurisdictions. |
| Custody & Settlement | Institutional‑grade custodians, multi‑signature wallets, and real‑time settlement guarantees. | Regulatory scrutiny over custodial arrangements; the need for insurance coverage. |
| Compliance & Identity | Integrated KYC/AML modules, sanctions screening, and transaction monitoring that can operate across jurisdictions. | Divergent data‑privacy laws (e.g., GDPR vs. U.S. BSA) and the lack of a unified “global AML” standard. |
| Interoperability | Protocol bridges (e.g., Wormhole, LayerZero) that can move stablecoins between L1 and L2 solutions without loss of value. | Bridge security incidents have eroded confidence; standards are still evolving. |
| Settlement Accounting | Real‑time accounting tools that reconcile blockchain events with legacy ERP systems. | Legacy ERP systems are often “off‑chain” and require custom middleware. |
Borderless has been building a stack that addresses each of these layers. According to Garn, the company’s Borderless Payments Platform (BPP) combines a proprietary liquidity‑management engine with a “regulatory router” that dynamically selects the optimal path—be it a direct stablecoin transfer, a fiat gateway, or a hybrid model—based on the destination country’s compliance landscape.
Regulatory Landscape – The Double‑Edged Sword
The conversation turned to the evolving regulatory environment. While the U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN guidance and the European MiCA framework have started to clarify the legal status of stablecoins, gaps remain:
- Licensing – Some jurisdictions require a full e‑money license for stablecoin issuers, while others treat them as securities.
- Capital Requirements – Reserve‑backed stablecoins must hold sufficient collateral, but the definition of “sufficient” varies.
- Cross‑border Data Sharing – The ability to share KYC data across borders is hampered by sovereignty concerns.
Garn warned that regulatory fragmentation is the biggest operational risk for enterprises building global payment pipelines. Borderless, he noted, is adopting a “compliance‑first” architecture that can toggle between different licensing regimes without disrupting the user experience.
The Role of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
When asked about CBDCs, Garn saw them as complementary rather than competitive to private stablecoins. “A CBDC can act as a settlement anchor for a stablecoin hub, providing a sovereign guarantee that stabilises the network,” he said. Borderless is already testing interoperability bridges between USDC and the U.S. FedNow system, a move that could unlock a hybrid model where private and public digital currencies coexist.
Key Takeaways
- Stablecoins are transitioning from speculative assets to core infrastructure for global payments. Their ability to combine speed, cost savings, and currency‑agnostic transfers is attracting enterprise interest.
- Scalable cross‑border payments demand a multilayered stack. Liquidity, custody, compliance, interoperability, and accounting must all be engineered to work in concert.
- Regulatory heterogeneity remains the primary headwind. Companies that embed flexible compliance workflows are better positioned to navigate divergent legal regimes.
- Borderless’s BPP exemplifies a modular approach. By separating liquidity management from regulatory routing, the platform can adapt to local requirements while preserving speed.
- CBDCs are likely to act as settlement backstops. Collaboration between private stablecoins and sovereign digital currencies could create a more resilient global payments ecosystem.
Outlook
The episode of The Defiant Podcast underscores a broader industry trend: stablecoins are quietly becoming the connective tissue of the next‑generation payments network. As institutional custody solutions mature, compliance tooling becomes more standardized, and regulators flesh out clear frameworks, the friction that once limited stablecoin adoption will diminish.
For enterprises, the decision point is no longer if stablecoins will be used, but how to integrate them into existing financial workflows without exposing the business to compliance or liquidity risks. Companies like Borderless, which are building end‑to‑end solutions, may well become the default gateway for the “digital cash” era.
For a full listening experience, check out The Defiant Podcast episode “How Stablecoins Are Rewiring Global Payments” featuring Alex Garn.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/podcasts-and-videos/podcast/how-stablecoins-are-rewiring-global-payments-or-borderless-cpo-alex-garn
