Digital asset firm XREX to launch payment platform after getting S’pore licence

SINGAPORE - Taiwan-based digital asset payment firm XREX is gearing up to launch a platform for remittances now that its local arm has been granted a Singapore licence.

XREX Singapore on May 13 said it would launch XREX Pay, a platform that offers cross-border business-to-business payment features for corporates, as soon as the third quarter of 2024.

It said that the platform will also have remittance solutions that can help migrant workers send money home.

XREX Pay would support the Singdollar and US dollar, as well as stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. A stablecoin is a digital token that is usually pegged to a commodity or currency and has its supply regulated by an algorithm.

The Singapore entity facilitates frictionless cross-border payments for import and export transactions, particularly for small and medium-sized firms in emerging markets.

XREX Singapore chief executive Christopher Chye said such payments are particularly vital for a trade-reliant economy such as Singapore.

He said the cost of settlements and transactions directly impacts not only the profitability of businesses, but also their willingness to penetrate new markets where dollar-conversion spreads can be prohibitively expensive.

Mr Chye noted that the World Bank estimates that the global average cost of sending remittances is about 6 per cent of the transfer value.

“Imagine a world where we can whittle that down to 3 per cent or, in certain instances, even below 1 per cent. That would go a long way in increasing the velocity of trade along Singapore’s trade corridors, and blockchain technology would be a key cornerstone to actualising this better world,” he added.

The development comes as XREX Singapore received a major payment institution licence from Singapore’s regulator. The firm had submitted its application in September 2021.

The licence allows it to offer six types of payment services, including cross-border money transfers, domestic money transfers and digital payment token transactions.

In the meantime, the firm is in the process of hiring in Singapore across roles in areas such as compliance, cyber security, finance and marketing.

“With XREX Singapore as the group’s Asia-Pacific headquarters, XREX looks forward to expanding its partnership with major banks, credit card institutions and payment institutions to build next-generation financial systems that integrate traditional and blockchain finance,” said the group’s co-founder and chief revenue officer Winston Hsiao.

The group, founded in 2018, offers a full suite of services such as digital asset custody, wallet, cross-border payment, fiat-crypto conversion, cryptocurrency exchange and asset management.