International transfers: the nightmare everyone wants to solve
Sending money from one country to another in 2026 still often means high fees, endless delays, and virtually zero transparency. Yet two announcements from March 31st show that the crypto and fintech industry has no intention of letting traditional banks monopolize this market for much longer. On one side, Ripple announces a strategic partnership with Convera. On the other, startup OpenFX just closed an impressive funding round to accelerate its stablecoin-based exchange network.
Ripple and Convera: The marriage of blockchain and the old financial world
Convera may be less known to the general public, but this fintech processes transactions in over 140 currencies daily. Its pedigree? It’s the former B2B division of Western Union, rebranded and repositioned to serve businesses needing fast and reliable international fund movements.
Ripple, for its part, needs no introduction: the American company has been pushing its blockchain technology for years as an alternative to traditional banking systems for cross-border settlements. Its protocol theoretically allows funds to be transferred in seconds, where traditional circuits like SWIFT can take several business days.
The partnership between the two entities officially aims to “improve” cross-border payments for Convera’s clients. In concrete terms, this means integrating Ripple’s technological infrastructure into Convera’s existing flows to gain speed and efficiency. For Ripple, it’s further validation of its model from a major fintech player, after years of legal battles with the SEC that long hampered its commercial development.
This alliance illustrates a deeper trend: large fintechs inherited from the traditional banking system are increasingly looking to plug into blockchain infrastructure to stay competitive, rather than rebuild everything from scratch.
OpenFX raises $94 million for stablecoins in international exchange
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, OpenFX announced a Series A funding round of $94 million. The stated objective: develop and expand its stablecoin-based exchange network.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, a stablecoin is a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a stable asset, typically the US dollar. Well-known examples include USDC or USDT. OpenFX’s idea is to use these digital assets as “rails” to perform currency conversions and international transfers faster and cheaper than traditional banking mechanisms.
A $94 million Series A round is a sum that sends a clear signal to investors: institutions believe that stablecoin-based payment infrastructure is not only viable but potentially highly profitable. This figure also testifies to the growing maturity of the ecosystem, far from the speculative image that still clings to cryptocurrencies in public imagination.
Two different approaches to the same problem
What’s fascinating about these two simultaneous announcements is that they illustrate two distinct philosophies for “fixing” the international payment system.
Ripple is betting on collaboration with established players: integrate into existing networks, bring blockchain technology as reinforcement without disrupting everything. It’s a pragmatic approach, less disruptive but potentially faster to deploy at scale.
OpenFX, by contrast, seems to be betting on an entirely redesigned architecture around stablecoins, building a new FX network (Foreign Exchange, or forex market) rather than adapting the old one. It’s a clean slate bet, more ambitious but also riskier.
Both models will probably coexist—and perhaps that’s what will allow the industry to advance faster than if it waited for a single player to “win.”
Context: Blockchain’s conquest of the $150+ trillion annual market
To understand what’s at stake, it’s important to recall that the cross-border payments market represents several tens of thousands of billions of dollars in transactions each year. It’s one of the last bastions where inefficiency still rhymes with profitability for traditional banks, who pocket exchange fees and non-negligible commissions along the way.
Blockchain and stablecoins’ forceful entry into this space is far from trivial. It’s part of a global dynamic where businesses—particularly SMEs active internationally—are seeking cheaper and more transparent alternatives. Partnerships like Ripple-Convera and massive funding rounds like OpenFX’s show that capital is following this conviction.
What remains to be seen is whether the technology will deliver on its promises at scale, and whether regulators worldwide will let these newcomers play in the big leagues without too much friction. Because in international finance, true disruption isn’t always where you expect it.
