Herbal Karman from Huma and Tomer Weller from Stellar discuss PayFi, a new financial sector combining payment financing with blockchain. They cover the $2.8B in PayFi transactions, the six-layer OpenPayFi stack, and how Stellar's infrastructure powers real-world payment solutions globally.
In this discussion about the Masari PayFi report, Herbal Karman (Huma co-founder) and Tomer Weller (Stellar product lead) explain PayFi as payment financing built on blockchain and stablecoins. PayFi addresses $30 trillion in annual global payment financing needs by removing intermediaries and pre-funding requirements. Huma has processed $2.8 billion in PayFi transactions and merged with ARF to scale cross-border payment financing. The OpenPayFi stack comprises six layers: transaction layer (L1s/L2s like Stellar), currency layer (stablecoins), custody, compliance, financing, and applications. Key use cases include cross-border payments, supply chain financing, and DeFi integration. Challenges include education and regulatory clarity, but adoption from major payment providers like Stripe, PayPal, and Shopify signals strong product-market fit. Predictions for 2026 include PayFi yield becoming mainstream in DeFi, half of major payment institutions adopting PayFi, and innovative crypto-native use cases emerging.
