The TON Foundation has announced a strategic partnership with global crypto infrastructure provider Banxa to deploy a dedicated stablecoin payment network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The collaboration, first reported by The Block and announced in early 2025, integrates TON's high-throughput blockchain with Banxa's licensed fiat-to-crypto gateway to create a new payment rail for business settlements, cross-border transactions, and consumer payments.
The network specifically targets over 70 million SMEs in APAC, a region where businesses frequently face high fees, slow processing times of 3-5 days, and opaque foreign exchange rates with traditional banking. The solution promises near-instant settlement at an estimated cost of less than 1%, a stark contrast to the 3-7% fees typical of traditional money transfer operators or bank wires.
Operationally, an SME can use Banxa's interface to convert local currency into a dollar-pegged stablecoin like USDT on the TON blockchain. The business can then instantly pay a supplier in another country. The recipient can hold the stablecoin, use it for further transactions, or cash out to local fiat via Banxa's off-ramp service. Banxa's role is crucial for regulatory compliance, as it holds Money Services Business (MSB) and Digital Currency Exchange licenses in markets including Australia, the EU, the UK, the US, and Canada, ensuring Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) adherence.
This initiative is part of TON's broader payments strategy, which includes the recent February 11 launch of TON Pay, a payment SDK for Telegram Mini Apps aimed at Telegram's 1.1 billion users. The foundation's existing enterprise partners, such as Bloxcross and Shift4, already use TON for payment processing. Analysts view the move as a shift from speculation to utility, directly addressing a multi-billion dollar inefficiency in global trade finance.
