Five Firms Build APAC’s Stablecoin Payment Stack

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, agreed in May 2026 to acquire Hong Kong stablecoin card issuer Reap for up to $600 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary conditions. Reap is expected to continue operating as a standalone platform under its current leadership. The deal is Payward’s first infrastructure acquisition in Asia and its third-largest acquisition overall.

Five operators identified in a regional stablecoin infrastructure map cover separate use cases: Capital Layer for bank connectivity and trade settlement, Reap for corporate cards, Triple-A for merchant checkout, STABO for treasury and collections, and Movantis for remittances. Their services connect stablecoins with banks, payment networks and cash-out systems.

Business-to-business payments accounted for about $226 billion of the $390 billion in genuine stablecoin payments recorded globally in 2025, according to industry estimates cited in the research. Asia accounted for about $245 billion of total stablecoin payment activity. Supply-chain settlement, supplier payments and treasury liquidity were among the main uses.

Taipei-based Capital Layer is building systems for institutions in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Its platform coordinates custody, compliance checks and settlement so banks can process stablecoin transactions within existing risk and audit systems. On July 8, Capital Layer and Taiwan’s O-Bank demonstrated a yen-stablecoin payment that the bank received and converted into fiat within its existing controls.

Capital Layer later announced a partnership with Tokyo-listed Green Monster to develop institutional settlement between Japan and Taiwan, and a distribution agreement with Taiwanese systems integrator Stark Technology. The company describes its system as a replacement for correspondent-bank settlement that can take two to five days, with same-day settlement and automated reconciliation.

Reap lets companies spend stablecoin balances through corporate cards. Digital businesses use the cards for subscriptions, cloud services and supplier payments. Traditional companies use them for cross-border procurement and travel expenses. Reap’s research found that digital-native businesses can process about 500 transactions per card each year, while traditional small and medium-sized businesses average more than 900 transactions per card. Reap nearly tripled its revenue and transaction volumes in 2025 and holds Visa Principal Issuer membership in Hong Kong and Mexico.

Triple-A provides stablecoin checkout for merchants in the United States, Europe and Singapore. Its research found that stablecoins account for 15% to 20% of payment volume processed by its Asia-Pacific merchants. Travel, e-commerce, gaming, digital services and financial platforms were among the strongest categories. Triple-A reported more than $1.5 million in chargeback savings for its regional partner merchants. APAC-originating payment flows to Europe grew 205% in 2025, while flows to the Middle East and North Africa rose 604%. Triple-A joined the Circle Payments Network in 2026 and added Mastercard Move to its cross-border infrastructure.

STABO is developing a treasury and collections platform for companies using stablecoins and fiat currency. Its services cover collections, payments, capital deployment, financing and investment. The company’s research found that merchants use stablecoins to reach customers and markets where card payments, banking access or cross-border settlement are difficult. Its controls include wallet screening, transaction monitoring and know-your-transaction checks. STABO operates through a Hong Kong trust and company service provider structure, is registered as a money services business in the United States and is seeking Canadian registration.

Movantis joined the Circle Payments Network in April 2026 and is preparing USDC settlement for remittance corridors into the Philippines, India and Indonesia. Its current APAC transactions still settle through fiat networks and money transfer operators. The planned model will use stablecoins where settlement is faster or does not require pre-funding, while local partners handle bank deposits and cash payouts. Movantis has more than 60 licences across the Americas, more than 90,000 payout locations and more than 50 money transfer operator relationships.

In Japan, JPYC, SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and major banks are involved in yen-stablecoin issuance or related services. In Hong Kong, Anchorpoint and HSBC are pursuing institutional settlement and treasury applications. Taiwanese banks are applying for licences under the country’s virtual-asset framework. Issuance in these markets is mainly reserved for banks and bank-backed groups, leaving payment, treasury and settlement services to other operators.