Stablecoins Cut Asia Settlement Times, Report Says

Asian treasuries are adopting stablecoins to improve liquidity, according to a report titled “Money Moves East: The Stablecoin Corridors in Asia in 2026.” The report identifies entry points in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and selected remittance corridors, while outlining regulatory developments expected in 2027.

Liquidity management was the leading benefit cited by 41% of Asian institutions surveyed, compared with 25% that cited lower costs. The report links the financial benefit to the release of funds held in destination markets before payments are completed.

Stablecoin settlement operates 24 hours a day without banking cutoffs, batch windows or holiday closures. A payment initiated in Los Angeles can reach the interbank settlement point in Manila or Mumbai during the same session. The corresponding leg through traditional correspondent banking generally takes one to three business days.

Payments involving Taiwan, Japan and South Korea can take two to five days when they pass through several correspondent banks, foreign-exchange conversions and intermediaries. Stablecoin settlement can reduce the process to one foreign-exchange conversion and create an electronic audit record that links to enterprise resource-planning systems.

The report says companies can reduce funds held in multiple destination accounts and limit the time that large invoices and receivables remain in transit. Programmable wallets can support scheduled payments, automated rebalancing and disbursements across time zones.

Stablecoins settle the institutional or interbank portion of a payment. Transfers to local bank accounts or cash recipients still use regulated domestic payment systems. Card chargebacks may not apply to stablecoin payments, but companies must assess wallet ownership, transaction history and the risk that funds originated from illegal activity. Operators use know-your-transaction checks, wallet screening and transaction monitoring to manage those risks.

In Singapore, companies can use firms with a Major Payment Institution licence for stablecoin acceptance and payouts. A Monetary Authority of Singapore consultation closed on Oct. 16, 2026. It proposed recognising some foreign-issued and jointly issued stablecoins. No outcome had been announced as of Oct. 20.

In Hong Kong, institutions can access HKDAP, a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin backed by Standard Chartered, through authorised distributors. HSBC’s Hong Kong dollar coin and retail access are expected later in 2026, according to the report. Trust and company-service-provider structures are available for asset segregation and related arrangements.

Japan’s institutional option is JPYSC, a yen stablecoin issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank without a transaction cap, the report says. JPYC serves smaller retail-scale transfers with a ¥1 million limit. A yen coin backed by MUFG, Mizuho and SMBC is scheduled for March 2027, subject to relevant conditions.

Taiwanese banks remain at the proof-of-concept stage. Stablecoin services are expected to begin no earlier than the first quarter of 2027, with 18 to 20 of the country’s 38 banks having applied for licences, according to the report. South Korea is expected to address the sector through its Digital Asset Basic Act in the second half of 2026. Australia has stablecoins operating under existing financial-services licences but no dedicated issuer regime.

The report recommends using stablecoins as a second settlement rail alongside correspondent banking. Gustavo Ruiz, chairman and chief executive of Movantis, described the approach as routing each transaction through the most suitable rail under one compliance standard.

Anna Chiu, Reap’s head of agentic payments, said software agents would need payment rails that can enforce spending limits, verify counterparties and settle transactions without human approval at every stage. The report says companies are considering such systems for procurement, supplier payments and treasury operations.