Traditional cross-border payments can be too slow, too expensive, and too complicated. However, like any good lunch, the so-called stablecoin sandwich can really hit the spot, satisfying cravings for remittance, scale, speed, and compliance.
What is a stablecoin sandwich?
A stablecoin sandwich is an emerging cross-border payment process that starts with funds in a fiat currency, converts it into a digital one — a stablecoin — and then transfers those funds into the recipient’s local currency.
Even though the payment goes through three different currencies to get from point A to point B, the process is quite effective for both sides of the transaction. The accounts receivable team might not even be aware that stablecoins were part of the transaction because that’s being done behind the scenes.
The digital “meat” of the sandwich is facilitating a seamless transaction that is much faster — hours instead of days — than a traditional cross-border payment using traditional banking and currency conversion methods.
How does the stablecoin sandwich work?
In the real world, stablecoin sandwiches are emerging as one of the most convenient ways for businesses to make cross-border payments faster, more efficient, at scale. Paying customers, employees, or suppliers with stablecoins isn’t something that’s easy, yet. Instead, businesses can benefit from the digital currency while dealing with a transaction that starts and ends with a traditional fiat currency.
The question is, how do stablecoins enhance cross-border payments and why should businesses consider stablecoin sandwiches?
What are stablecoins?
Typically pegged to a stable financial instrument like the US dollar or a commodity, stablecoins have emerged as a bridge between the volatile world of cryptocurrencies and traditional financial institutions. Stablecoins combine the efficiency of blockchain technology — speed and transparency — with the price stability necessary for business operations.
It’s no wonder that the $225 billion stablecoin market (as of May 2025) is growing rapidly, with the total transaction volume exceeding $3.3 trillion in a single month.
Financial institutions leveraging stablecoin-based payments
In part 2 of The Payments Pulse report Convera breaks down the pros and cons of using stablecoins in cross-border payments.
The practice has taken off in recent years, making its way into mainstream international finance. Major institutions, such as Visa and Bank of America, have dipped their toes into the stablecoin sandwich kitchen, making it hard for global accounts payable and receivable teams alike to ignore it.
“With institutions like the Bank of America weighing in on the conversation, it seems like stablecoins are on a precipice,” says Scott Johnson, Convera’s Vice President for Technical Program Management. “They offer the potential to bypass volatility concerns around cryptocurrencies, while solving traditional payments challenges like speed, transparency, and cost.”
And that’s where the stablecoin sandwich comes in: Today, it’s a practical way for businesses to take advantage of the improved speed, transparency, and cost of cross-border payments via stablecoins, while preserving and maintaining their business operations.
Download part 2 of The Payments Pulse to learn more about stablecoin trends.
Key benefits of a stablecoin sandwich
A stablecoin sandwich offers businesses the ability to leverage stablecoins and its key benefits. Stablecoins allow businesses to send money across borders without going through traditional banking systems, reducing time and costs. With blockchain rails, the money can cross borders and convert to a local valuation, offering businesses a plethora of benefits, such as:
- Speed: Traditional wire transfers can take days. Stablecoins settle in under an hour, even across time zones.
- Cost efficiency: Reduces reliance on correspondent banks, minimizing fees and FX spreads.
- Transparency: Improves trust and traceability. Every step of the transaction can be verified on-chain.
- Resilience: Bypasses traditional banking bottlenecks and regional capital controls.
- Scalability: Provides access to hundreds of currencies worldwide.
Stablecoin sandwich challenges
The stablecoin sandwich isn’t frictionless yet; it lacks standardization, and using two different payment rails presents regulatory risks. Anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) standards are particularly important.
“It boils down to Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance,” says Jody Flournoy, co-founder of business-to-business (B2B) blockchain consulting company Block Fuel, on a recent episode of the Converge podcast. “[Bad actors] are always looking for layering of transactions, going in and out of different currencies as a way to obfuscate who the funds are coming from.”
The potential for such actions, and other emerging types of financial fraud, triggers heightened scrutiny toward the use of stablecoin sandwiches. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed if mainstream adoption is to take hold in the near future.
“Stablecoins offer the ability to track a wallet address, but as you get into cash or stablecoins or stablecoins-back-into-cash, it can work very seamlessly, but could also raise red flags,” Flournoy says. “And you want to at least have a good data trail because, once it gets off the blockchain, you need that provenance of who was actually accepting these funds and then who took the physical cash, if that’s what it is, to the final destination.”
However, as more economies participate, the direction of finance is becoming clearer.
“The ultimate question is: ‘What will it take to get the mainstream market comfortable enough to adopt this progressive form of currency?’” Johnson says. “This will hinge on a regulatory environment flexible enough to support innovation while reassuring both businesses and consumers that stablecoins are safe and trustworthy.”
Blockchain and stablecoin sandwiches enhancing commerce
The stablecoin sandwich isn’t just a buzzword in the cryptocurrency world. It’s a new, practical model optimizing cross-border payments.
As the stablecoin sandwich model develops, the following types of businesses stand to benefit from adopting the process for cross-border payments:
- Exporters and importers who need fast, low-cost settlements.
- Freelancer and contractor platforms paying gig workers globally in real time.
- E-commerce and SMBs with existing international vendors, and those looking to expand abroad.
- Crypto-native companies interested in stablecoin liquidity with fiat settlement.
By blending the reliability of fiat with the speed and efficiency of stablecoins, businesses can unlock real operational advantages. As blockchain technology advances, a wider community in the global financial systems is embracing it, and stablecoins are poised to become a vital tool for cross-border commerce.
Download part 2 of The Payments Pulse to learn more about global payments trends, including stablecoins and real-time payments.[1]
