UPay Taps StraitsX to Develop Financial Infrastructure for the Digital Economy

UPay, the crypto payments card company, has announced a partnership with StaritsX, a stablecoin-native settlement layer. UPay said the partnership is key to enabling seamless, secure, and accessible stablecoin payment solutions for users worldwide.

This is not the first fintech to leverage StraitsX, with Alipay+ and GrabPay announcing a similar partnership in November, and RedotPay doing the same in February.

UPay will integrate StraitX’s infrastructure directly into its payment ecosystem, enabling global users to seamlessly utilize their stablecoins for everyday transactions through UPay payment cards.

Taking Global Payments to the Next Frontier

With this collaboration, UPay seeks to bridge traditional daily spending with the rapidly growing digital economy, powered by stablecoins. The company believes the initiative is central to the evolution of financial institutions, as it seeks to deliver a payment solution that not only is secure and compliant but also exceptionally user-friendly, the company said.

“The collaboration will address key industry challenges by reducing the friction and cost of cross-border transactions, making stablecoins a practical tool for daily commerce on a global scale,” UPay said in a statement on Tuesday.

Commenting on the announcement, Tianyao Liu, Head of Partnerships and Co-Founder at StraitsX, stated: ”Our mission has always been to build the foundational rails for the digital economy. We’re not just enabling payments; we are architecting the core infrastructure that will allow value to move as freely as information does today. Together, we are laying down the tracks for a new financial future, built on trust and seamless accessibility.”

Owen Yang, CEO of UPay, commented, “This is an important move for UPay. It enhances our capability to tap into the tangible reality of everyday financial life. We are providing our users with unparalleled stability and trust. We are not just offering a payment card; we are offering a passport to the future of global finance, and StraitsX is the cornerstone of that bridge.”

Benefits of the Partnership

By integrating its payment system with StraitsX’s sablecoin-native settlement layer, UPay allows its users to instantly convert and spend their stablecoins at over 175 million VISA merchants worldwide. This unlocks faster, more cost-effective global payments powered by blockchain technology.

StraitsX’s stablecoins are fully-reserved with and pegged 1:1 to the dollar, thus providing “a bedrock of confidence and transparency for users.”

The two companies also believe the partnership could play a crucial role in accelerating mainstream adoption and widespread integration of stablecoins with traditional finance.

UPay also said the partnership takes seriously the continuously evolving nature of money-laundering and terrorism-financing typologies and will therefore ensure that the risks arising from this integration are properly mitigated.

StraitsX’s Expanding Network

The partnership comes on the heels of StraitsX’s recent announcement of a collaboration with Ant Group’s payments subsidiary, Alipay+, and the Singapore-based GrabPay. The company is also the issuer of the Singapore dollar-dominated stablecoin, XSGD, and the US dollar-pegged XUSD.

In February, another Singapore-based crypto payments company, RedotPay, also partnered with StraitsX to launch a crypto card program.