Change, a Singapore-based remittance company, discusses scaling cross-border payments on Stellar to serve migrant workers across Asia. CEO Joe Tooson explains their hub-and-spoke model, compliance approach, and vision for instant, free, and safe remittances.
At Meridian, Change CEO Joe Tooson and SDF's Christine Toh discuss how Change is leveraging Stellar to scale remittances across Asia. Change operates a hub-and-spoke model centered in Singapore, serving both high-net-worth individuals and migrant workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Bangladesh. Tooson explains their IFS vision (instant, free, safe), their AI-powered smart compliance engine to mitigate money laundering and fraud, and how Stellar's privacy-preserving blockchain features support the travel rule requirements. Revenue comes from FX margins rather than fees, targeting 20,000 transactions monthly at the bottom of the pyramid. Key challenges include regulatory compliance, bank account retention, and the need for liquidity pools on both sending and receiving sides.