Noah & NALA Launch Instant Stablecoin Settlement Network to Modernise Emerging-Markets Payments

A major new chapter in cross-border money movement has begun. Payments infrastructure provider Noah and stablecoin payments company NALA have joined forces to launch a next-generation instant stablecoin settlement network designed to tackle inefficiencies in global payments — especially for emerging markets across Africa and Asia. The platform allows businesses to collect US dollars anywhere and pay out local currency in minutes, bypassing traditional correspondent banking rails that can take days and cost billions in fees.

The Noah–NALA network represents a significant step in combining regulated stablecoin rails with compliant fiat on- and off-ramps, promising to close an estimated $850 billion annual liquidity gap in cross-border payments. It targets merchants, enterprises, and platforms that have long been handicapped by slow settlement times, high fees, and trapped liquidity.

Reimagining Settlement: From Days to Minutes

Historically, cross-border transfers — especially to emerging markets — have relied on legacy correspondent banking systems built over decades. Such systems are slow, expensive, and often opaque. Remittance costs, for example, still average close to 9 percent in many corridors, eating into income for consumers and businesses alike.

The new settlement network flips this model by using stablecoins as the settlement layer paired with regulated infrastructure on both ends:

• Global USD collection (Noah): Noah provides regulated virtual USD accounts that allow businesses to collect funds via standard bank transfer. These funds are converted in real time to stablecoins, with Noah handling Know-Your-Customer (KYC), compliance monitoring, and onboarding at the point of entry.
• Local distribution (NALA / Rafiki): Once settled, value flows into NALA’s Rafiki payments infrastructure API. Rafiki connects to local banks and mobile money networks across multiple countries, enabling instant local currency payouts. NALA holds more than 10 regulatory licences, facilitating compliant bilateral flows between stablecoins and local fiat.

This architecture allows businesses and platforms to move value 24/7/365, independent of local banking hours, with settlement occurring in minutes rather than multiple business days.

A Settlement Layer Tailored for Emerging Markets

The partnership focuses squarely on the needs of emerging markets, where slow settlement and high costs hinder economic activity. By combining regulated stablecoin settlement with local fiat access, the network:

• Enables global payroll and payouts: Firms can pay freelancers, employees, and partners instantly, without relying on slow correspondent banking rails.
• Offers USD accounts and value preservation: Businesses and consumers gain reliable access to USD-denominated virtual accounts, which can serve as a hedge against local currency volatility and inflation.
• Supports treasury and liquidity management: Platforms can move liquidity across borders in real time, with stablecoins serving as a programmable settlement layer.
• Facilitates global collections and local distribution: Merchants can collect funds globally in USD and pay out in local currencies through regulated on- and off-ramps, creating smoother cross-border flows.

By enabling these flows, the Noah–NALA network addresses longstanding structural issues that have limited financial inclusion and global business expansion in many regions.

Why Stablecoins Matter in This Play

Stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies — have emerged as powerful tools for digital money movement due to their speed, programmability, and 24/7 availability. However, simply using stablecoins without regulated infrastructure can lead to risks around compliance, anti-money-laundering controls, and integration with local banking systems.

The Noah–NALA network is designed to address these concerns by combining regulated stablecoin rails with traditional banking on- and off-ramps. Noah takes responsibility for onboarding, KYC, and compliance at entry, while NALA’s Rafiki infrastructure ensures compliant conversion and payout in local currency. This dual-layer approach provides both the efficiency of stablecoins and the compliance and regulatory assurance necessary for institutional adoption.

According to Noah’s Founder and CEO Shah Ramezani, the partnership aims to remove structural friction and restore trust in settlement — creating “a new payment network that finally makes instant, compliant USD settlement possible at scale.”

Building the Network: A Deep Partnership

The collaboration builds on each partner’s strengths:

• Noah: A global payments infrastructure provider focused on bridging traditional finance with digital innovation via regulated virtual accounts, real-time settlement, and API-driven rails.
• NALA: A pan-African fintech with a growing stablecoin infrastructure business, Rafiki, connecting stablecoin liquidity with local fiat corridors and licensed to operate across key emerging markets.

NALA’s Rafiki platform has experienced remarkable growth, scaling from zero to $1 billion in payments volume in just 18 months and expanding its business and revenue multiple times in the past year. This momentum underscores the appetite for faster, compliant dollar flows into emerging markets.

By integrating Noah’s virtual accounts and NALA’s distribution network, the settlement layer becomes not just a payments conduit but a global operating system for money movement — one that matches the needs of digitally native enterprises and traditional businesses alike.

Market Impact: Beyond Payments

The implications of an instant stablecoin settlement network extend beyond simple transfers:

Reduced Costs and Higher Efficiency

Traditional remittance and cross-border services can be prohibitively expensive for businesses and individuals. The new network promises to significantly cut costs by eliminating multiple intermediary fees and offering direct settlement rails.

Improved Liquidity and Reduced Friction

By converting funds into stablecoins at the point of entry and settling before payout, the network reduces liquidity traps — a common issue when funds are tied up in correspondent banking corridors.

Empowering SMEs and Local Economies

Small- and mid-sized enterprises operating in emerging markets often struggle with unpredictable payment timing and FX spreads. Instant settlement enables smoother operations, more accurate forecasting, and better access to working capital.

Financial Inclusion and Economic Growth

Faster, lower-cost payment rails have macroeconomic potential. With digital payments projected to exceed $1.5 trillion annually in emerging markets by 2030, instant settlement infrastructure could support broader financial inclusion and economic participation.

Regulatory and Compliance Considerations

A critical success factor for any stablecoin-based network is compliance. The Noah–NALA model embeds regulatory oversight and licensed operations into the network’s core, addressing concerns around anti-money-laundering (AML), sanctions, and transaction monitoring — areas that have historically slowed digital asset adoption.

By holding licenses in multiple jurisdictions and ensuring compliant on- and off-boarding of funds, the partnership reduces risk and increases trust among partners and end users — a prerequisite for institutional adoption and broader integration with regulated financial systems.

Challenges and Future Outlook

While the Noah–NALA settlement network demonstrates the promise of stablecoin rails, challenges remain:

• Regulatory Harmonisation: Emerging markets have diverse legal frameworks, requiring ongoing engagement with local regulators.
• On-Ramp Adoption: Businesses and platforms must adopt virtual accounts and integrate settlement APIs to benefit fully.
• FX Volatility and Hedging: Although stablecoins provide predictable settlement value, local currency conversions still entail foreign exchange considerations in volatile markets.

Despite these challenges, the partnership’s design reflects a pragmatic blend of innovation and regulation, offering a real-world model for how stablecoins can be embedded into global financial infrastructure.

Conclusion: A New Settlement Paradigm

The Noah–NALA instant stablecoin settlement network marks a pivotal step in redefining cross-border payments for emerging markets. By leveraging regulated stablecoin settlement, compliant infrastructure, and API-driven rails, the network shifts the paradigm from slow, costly correspondent banking to fast, transparent, and cost-effective value movement.

As global commerce becomes increasingly interconnected, infrastructure solutions like Noah and NALA’s partnership could redefine how value flows across borders — enabling businesses, SMEs, and consumers to participate in the global economy with greater speed, reliability, and financial inclusion.

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