Stablecoin settlement vs correspondent banking
How the two ways to send money abroad compare on speed, cost and capital, and when to use each.
Side by side
| Correspondent banking | Stablecoin settlement with Elytra | |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement time | 2–5 business days; cut-offs, weekends and holidays add more | Minutes from deposit to payout, 24/7/365 |
| All-in cost | Typically 3–6%: fees at each hop plus an FX markup | One price, a fraction of bank FX, shown before you send |
| How it moves | Hops through three or four banks, each holding and pricing it | Local rails in, one onchain crossing, local rails out |
| Capital at destination | A pre-funded nostro account in each payout market | None: each transfer funds its own payout |
| Price certainty | The spread is found at reconciliation | Quoted and held before you commit |
| Tracking | Each bank sees only the next party in the chain | Every state pushed to you as it happens |
| Who holds funds | Each bank in the chain, in turn | Licensed partners at every leg; Elytra never takes custody |
| Reach | Almost every currency pair in the world | USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AED, NPR, USDC and USDT, plus 14 payout markets through partner banks |
How each one works
A chain of accounts
Your bank passes the payment to a bank it has an account with, which passes it on until one can pay out locally. Each hop has its own hours and its own fee.
One crossing
Money is paid in locally, turned into stablecoin by a licensed partner, moved onchain, converted at the destination and paid out locally.
Days, deductions and float
With no banks in the middle there is nothing to wait for and nothing deducted on the way. The money arrives in minutes, so nothing is pre-funded.
Which should you use?
Banks still reach more currency pairs than any one network. Where your corridors are covered, stablecoin settlement is faster, cheaper and needs no cash parked abroad. Many teams use both.
Stablecoin vs correspondent banking, answered
Short answers to what teams ask us first. More in the FAQ.
Is stablecoin settlement faster than correspondent banking?
Yes, on the corridors it covers. A correspondent payment takes two to five business days. With Elytra it takes minutes from deposit to payout, every day of the year.
Is it cheaper?
Yes. Correspondent payments typically cost 3 to 6% all-in once every bank’s fee and FX markup is counted. Elytra costs a fraction of that, with one price shown before you send.
Do recipients need a crypto wallet?
No. The stablecoin only carries the money across. The recipient is paid in local currency, into the bank account they already have.
When does correspondent banking still make sense?
When you need a currency pair a stablecoin network doesn’t cover yet. Many teams send covered corridors through Elytra and keep banks for the rest.
Try it on your corridor
Tell us the route and the volume. We’ll show you what it costs on Elytra.