The global financial system is undergoing a major shift. New payment rails are making it easier and faster for money to cross borders, breaking down old barriers that once slowed trade and limited access for many people. At a recent Thunes Meetup in Singapore, a panel titled “The New Economy: Rails for Borderless Finance” brought together experts to discuss how digital assets, programmable money, and connected networks are changing the way payments work worldwide—and what it will take to bring these tools to billions of users.
Moderated by Lakshmi Rajagopalan, Vice President of Network Strategy at Thunes, the discussion featured Chan Yam Ki, Vice President for Asia Pacific at Circle, and Walter De Oude, Founder of Chocolate Finance. The speakers explored how new technologies can connect traditional banking systems with modern finance, while building the secure and efficient infrastructure that users around the world need.
Uploading the Dollar to the Internet
Chan Yam Ki started the conversation with a bold idea: Circle has essentially “uploaded the dollar to the internet.” Its stablecoin, USDC, is a digital version of the U.S. dollar that is fully reserved, regulated, and designed to move as easily as data online.
“Sending value should be as easy as sending an email,” Yam Ki explained. Whether the amount is five cents or five million dollars, money can now transfer nearly instantly, with strong security and very low costs.
This change is as significant as the internet’s impact on communication. When sending messages or data became almost free, it created new industries like online shopping, streaming services, and digital marketplaces. In the same way, stablecoins and programmable money are opening doors to greater financial inclusion. Merchants and consumers in emerging markets can now join the global digital economy more fully.
For instance, a small business owner in Africa no longer has to wait weeks for payments or lose a large share of earnings to high fees. Instant micro-payments make it possible for millions of entrepreneurs to take part in international trade that was previously too expensive or too slow.
From AI to Programmable Money: The Future of Borderless Finance
Looking forward, Yam Ki described how artificial intelligence and programmable money are starting to work together. In the near future, AI agents could negotiate deals and complete payments automatically through smart contracts.
“It would be strange for an AI agent to email a human, ask them to log into a bank account, complete two-factor authentication, and send money manually,” he said. Instead, machines will handle transactions directly when certain conditions are met. This machine-to-machine commerce could bring new levels of speed, transparency, and efficiency to global trade and digital services.
Designing for People, Not Protocols
Walter De Oude reminded the audience that technology must serve real human needs. “Consumers don’t care how the wiring works, only that it works,” he noted.
Most people think of their money in simple terms: cash for everyday spending, savings that should grow, and higher-risk investments. The key challenge is creating financial products that are straightforward and transparent, no matter whether they use traditional fiat currency or digital assets.
De Oude described himself as “agnostic” about the technology. “Fiat, crypto, tokenized assets—as long as it works,” he said. Stablecoins stand out because they offer real efficiency and reliability, helping transactions move faster while fitting within existing rules and systems.
Interoperability: Bridging Legacy Networks with Next-Generation Payments
The panel agreed that today’s financial world is still fragmented. Banks, card networks, and digital wallets often operate separately, creating friction for users.
Yam Ki highlighted how interoperable systems, especially those using blockchain and stablecoins, can connect these different parts. He pointed to Thunes’ Direct Global Network as a practical example. It links payouts, collections, and wallets across more than 130 countries and is beginning to incorporate digital-asset options like stablecoins for quicker treasury management and settlements. Combining trusted traditional infrastructure with new technology is essential for safe, large-scale growth in cross-border payments.
Regulation, Experience, and Skills: The Path to Global Adoption
USDC has already reached significant scale, with over $75 billion in circulation as of early 2026 and trillions of dollars in cumulative on-chain transaction volume. Yam Ki emphasized that widespread adoption will depend on three main factors:
- Regulatory clarity: Major economies—including Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, Korea, Dubai, and Australia—are developing or finalizing rules for stablecoins, though progress varies by region.
- Technology and user experience: The smooth, user-friendly design that made Web2 platforms popular must be brought to Web3 applications to encourage broader use.
- Skills and education: Developers and teams need training in areas like transaction fees, distributed systems, and compliance with digital asset rules to build reliable services that earn user trust.
These elements will decide how quickly digital assets move from early experiments to everyday global use.
Building Trust and Emotional Connection in Financial Innovation
De Oude closed his remarks by stressing the human side of finance. Successful products do more than just deliver speed or returns—they also create trust and an emotional connection with users. As systems become more automated, reliable infrastructure, clear transparency, and genuine care for people will remain essential for building lasting confidence.
The Future Lies Beyond Web2 and Web3
Lakshmi Rajagopalan wrapped up the session by noting that the future of payments is not a battle between traditional Web2 systems and new Web3 technologies. Instead, it will be a convergence of both—creating one seamless ecosystem where old and new finance work together.
The tools are ready, and the direction is clear. Success will come from strengthening trust, supporting smart regulation, and investing in education. The result will be borderless payments that are secure, transparent, and fast, connecting people, businesses, and economies worldwide.
As the discussion ended, the central message was unmistakable: the next era of money movement will be defined by connection through truly borderless finance.
Ready to strengthen your global payment capabilities? Get in touch with Thunes to learn how the Direct Global Network delivers fast, secure, and interoperable transfers across more than 130 markets.
USDC is issued by regulated affiliates of Circle. A list of Circle’s regulatory authorizations can be found on their website.
