Stablecoin Platform Arf and Tempo Launch New Payments Corridor

Global stablecoin treasury, working capital financing and cross-border settlement provider Arf has teamed up with European money service Tempo Payments to debut a payment corridor through the Stellar network, from Europe to the Philippines.

Stellar USDC, a digital currency issued by Circle, is at the heart of the Arf/Tempo collaboration. Tempo now accepts fiat euros from senders and converts them to Stellar USDC, then Arf moves the money to a Filipino partner to be converted to local fiat on the receiving end.

“By partnering with trusted financial institutions such as Tempo, Arf enables its customers to conduct compliant cross-border transactions,” wrote Caroline Young, content creator and writer for the Stellar Foundation, in a blog post on Monday (Oct. 4). “In combination with high transaction speeds and near-zero fees of transactions on Stellar, Arf provides Tempo with instant value transfer via Stellar USDC and secures mid-market FX rates from local money service businesses (MSBs) and anchors in receiving countries.”

Arf uses Stellar USDC across various parts of the world to bridge payments to local partners. By expanding access to Stellar USDC across multiple geographies, Arf acts as an intermediary that can bridge to local payout partners in many countries, providing an easier option for Stellar anchors and licensed MSBs.

Related news: White House Seeks Stablecoin Regulations

Last week, the White House singled out stablecoins for regulations similar to the mandates imposed on banks. The Biden administration wants Congress to pass legislation for a charter tailored to the cryptocurrency firms that issue stablecoins, but might also make the stablecoin companies register as financial institutions.

Stablecoins — including Tether, Binance and Circle’s USDC — are backed by the U.S. dollar. Some lawmakers have expressed concern that stablecoins could trigger instability if holders are leery of the value of those underlying assets.

The recommendations from the White House will likely be part of a report later this month by the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), a Treasury Department committee.