Stellar Development Foundation and Finclusive hosted a webinar on driving financial inclusion through compliance. Finclusive, a RegTech-FinTech hybrid, provides compliance-as-a-service and operates as a U.S. on-off ramp for the Stellar network, enabling secure cross-border payments while maintaining robust AML/KYC standards.
Lauren Thorbjornson (SDF Head of Communications), Candice Kelly (SDF General Counsel), and Amit Sharma (Finclusive CEO) discussed how compliance can drive inclusion rather than exclusion. Finclusive provides full-stack AML compliance services, operates as a non-issuing anchor on Stellar, and connects to U.S. bank partners for FDIC-insured accounts. The platform enables seamless value transfer via Stellar rails or traditional banking channels. A key use case demonstrated cross-border remittances between U.S. day laborers and Mexico, eliminating cash handling risks. Finclusive leads the Compliance and Payments Task Force, which developed an open-source rulebook for virtual asset service providers. The rulebook reframes compliance as an inclusion engine by focusing on activities and practices rather than entity types, and has gained attention from regulators including the Federal Reserve and FinCEN.