Airtm, Bridge, and Stellar blockchain have integrated to enable fast, low-cost stablecoin payouts for global freelancers and gig workers. Nearly half of Airtm's stablecoin payouts now use Stellar, processing over 1.2 million transactions across seven continents since March 2024. This partnership leverages Stellar's anchor network for seamless fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, revolutionizing cross-border payroll.
The integration between Airtm, Bridge (a Stripe company), and the Stellar blockchain addresses the challenges of slow, expensive cross-border payments for the global workforce in emerging markets. Businesses send dollar-denominated payouts via familiar methods like ACH or SEPA, which Bridge converts to USDC and transmits instantly over Stellar's low-cost network to Airtm wallets. Stellar's global anchors enable users to cash out to over 500 local methods, including banks, mobile money, and cash pickup. Since launching in March 2024, the system has served 250,000+ recipients with 1.2 million transactions, saving enterprises 20-25% on costs, with significant volume in Argentina ($9M) and Egypt ($6.7M). Companies like Sapien use it for AI data labeling payments. Stellar's focus on payments, instant settlement, and interoperability makes it ideal for this use case, signaling opportunities for other wallets.
