Tell us about Merge
Merge is merging stablecoins and fiat payment rails around the world. We provide regulated infrastructure with stablecoin ramps and wallets, fiat accounts and payments rails, and embedded FX and on-chain liquidity. Our single API provides our clients seamless access to multi-currency accounts, real-time payments, SWIFT connectivity, named sub-accounts and FX capabilities.
We have built a comprehensive stablecoin payments orchestration platform that enables instant first-mile and last-mile payins and payouts while enabling instant cross-border payments leveraging stablecoin transactions via the blockchain. By doing that, we eliminate delays, reduce fees, and provide complete transparency for cross-border payments – all issues that have long plagued international money movement.
What Do You Think Makes Merge Unique?
Merge is unique because of how we are merging stablecoins and fiat payment rails with our commitment to providing the utmost transparency and compliance-focused payments platform. Our licensing – being our EMI and VASP in Europe – was intentional as we wanted to ensure that we have licensing from a tier 1 jurisdiction.
The world of payments is built on trust and given how quickly the digital asset world, and more specifically stablecoins have developed, there is a lot of room for things to go wrong and have potentially damaging effects. Our compliance-first approach ensures that we put our clients’ interests first and prioritise safety in parallel to innovation. Ultimately, we want to be known for innovating the right way.
What Is Your Advice To Aspiring Entrepreneurs?
I think my advice can be summarised into three key points:
1. Focus your energy on solving a real, painful problem that customers face daily. True demand drives sustainable growth.
2. View regulation as a competitive advantage – mastering compliance can become your moat.
3. Don’t just digitise existing financial processes; reimagine and rebuild underlying infrastructure to unlock new possibilities and efficiencies. First principles thinking is key.
What Most Excites You About Merge?
We have barely crossed the starting line of the stablecoin industry. Our team will likely shape what this industry is going to look like moving forward. Every day, we are speaking with new businesses and figuring out how we can transform their payments infrastructure to exist for the modern age and harness the potential of digital dollars.
Now the market is experiencing a key time for growth and innovation, we’re in an enviable position and are lucky to have a team able to chase down and capitalise on it.
How Has Merge Evolved Over the Last Couple of Years?
Since our launch in 2022, we have grown steadily. We are proud to have received and announced our dual licensing with our Electronic Money Institution (EMI) and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licenses. This represents a significant milestone for us as it allows us to support businesses in Europe and around the world with a cross-border payments platform that merges stablecoins and fiat payment rails.
Our team is growing too! We now have offices in London, Paris, and Bangalore, and we are looking to continue steadily growing the team. It is a special experience being able to build something from the ground up, especially with driven and passionate people.
What Can We Hope To See from Merge In the Future?
You will see us continue to grow our product, our client base, and our team. As the stablecoin industry continues its growth, so will ours. We will be leading the charge on proving stablecoins as the default payment option for cross-border payments. Because of what we are building at Merge, businesses across the globe will see better, faster, and cheaper payment options.
