Cebuana Lhuillier has partnered with Fireblocks to build a stablecoin-powered payment rail for its cross-border remittance business, according to Inquirer.net.

The new rail is designed to settle domestic and cross-border transfers faster and more cheaply than the company’s existing infrastructure, running on the Solana blockchain.

Fireblocks, which says it secures more than US$6 trillion in digital asset transfers annually, will supply Cebuana Lhuillier with wallet technology, reconciliation tools, and its Network for Payments infrastructure.

Fireblocks said this lets Cebuana Lhuillier and its international partners fund settlement accounts directly, aiming to speed up liquidity across its remittance corridors.

Cebuana Lhuillier operates more than 3,500 branches nationwide, one of the largest financial services footprints in the Philippines.

For many Filipinos in underserved communities, those branches remain the primary point of access for money transfers and payments.

“Our customers are not waiting for the future, they are already living in it,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier. “They send money on their phones; they expect it to arrive instantly.”

Ran Goldi, Senior Vice President of Payments and Network at Fireblocks, said the partnership brings institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure to one of the country’s most active remittance networks, calling it a chance to “set a new standard for how money moves across borders.”

A Broader Shift Toward Digital, Stablecoin-Based Payments

The move comes as the Philippines continues shifting toward digital payments.

BSP data show digital payments made up 57.4% of the country’s retail payment volume and 59% of transaction value in 2024, up from 52.8% and 55.3% respectively in 2023.

The central bank is targeting 60-70% digitalisation of retail payments by 2028.

This is not Cebuana Lhuillier’s first move into blockchain-based payments.

The company integrated with the Stellar network for cross-border transfers in March 2023, and in November 2024 began enabling conversions using PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin through local digital asset exchange PDAX.

Other Philippine platforms, including digital asset exchange Coins.ph, have also moved toward stablecoin-based settlement, with Coins.ph launching its own peso-pegged stablecoin, PHPC.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by Fireblocks via LinkedIn.