Eric Barbier

I've spent over 20 years working in payments, building companies including Mobile 365 and TransferTo, which is now Thunes and DT One. I discovered crypto through my own engineers, who were mining Bitcoin. Having spent years dealing with the inefficiencies of international payments, I immediately saw the potential of blockchain to solve some very real problems.

Initially, it was the problem of fraud and chargebacks. Merchants selling internationally, particularly digital goods, were losing significant revenue to payment disputes. Blockchain transactions offered a way to eliminate chargebacks. That was the starting point for Triple-A, although the opportunity has since grown far beyond merchant acceptance.

International payments still pass through multiple intermediaries, depend on banking hours and carry high settlement costs. Having built traditional payment infrastructure myself, I know those limitations very well. Triple-A addresses them by moving money over stablecoin rails, which settle in minutes, operate 24/7 and remove much of the cost of correspondent banking. Today we help over 1,000 businesses accept payments, make payouts and manage their treasury across borders.

Our ideal client is a business selling across borders at scale, from global enterprises to fast-growing digital brands, that wants to reach more customers and settle faster without holding digital assets itself. Among digital currency payments, stablecoins are where we see the fastest adoption, particularly in gaming, luxury retail, travel and digital services. International shoppers in these sectors often face card declines or limited access to local payment methods, so stablecoins give them another way to pay and help businesses capture sales they would otherwise lose.

Seeing global brands like Grab, Wego and Farfetch integrate stablecoin payments into their operations was a major milestone. With Farfetch, for example, customers paying in stablecoins have an average order value 56% higher than customers paying in USD. When you can demonstrate measurable commercial results, adoption becomes a business decision rather than an experiment.

That stablecoins will kill SWIFT and replace traditional payment networks. I don't believe that. My estimate is that stablecoins could eventually account for 15–20% of cross-border payments, which is already enormous. Systems like SEPA Instant, UPI and Pix work extremely well. The future is about connecting these networks with stablecoin rails, and creating a more efficient global payment ecosystem.

It’s a massive accelerator. When the world's largest payment networks and financial institutions embrace stablecoins, it signals a fundamental shift in how money moves. This accelerates adoption and creates enormous opportunities for companies like Triple-A, which already have the regulated infrastructure to connect stablecoins with traditional finance.

I'm particularly excited about connecting stablecoin infrastructure with traditional banking and local payment networks. Imagine a business collecting payments in one country, managing its treasury in another, and paying suppliers globally — all through a single platform. That's the direction we're building towards.

Global payouts are an increasingly significant opportunity. Once businesses understand that stablecoins can move money across borders in minutes, they start looking beyond just customer payments. The natural next step is using stablecoins to pay international suppliers, freelancers and partners, especially in markets where traditional banking is slow or expensive.

Most businesses, especially the enterprise clients we work with, don't want digital currency exposure on their balance sheets. With Triple-A, businesses can accept stablecoin and other digital currency payments while receiving settlement in their preferred local currency. We lock the exchange rate at the time of receiving the payment, so companies know exactly what they'll receive.

As a licensed payment institution, we handle client funds according to the safeguarding regulations. When a customer pays in stablecoins, the funds are received into secure wallets, converted and sit in the designated trust account with a regulated safeguarding bank. Every transaction is screened and monitored, and security and compliance are built into each step of the payment flow.

That blockchain transactions are inherently risky. In reality, the biggest risks usually sit around the transaction rather than in it: weak controls, poor wallet screening and unreliable counterparties. Blockchain provides transparency and traceability, but businesses still need robust compliance and security infrastructure around it.

When I started Triple-A, much of the crypto industry saw regulation as something to avoid. I took the opposite approach. My goal was always to build a regulated payment institution that uses blockchain technology. That decision has shaped our expansion across Singapore, Europe, the US, and other markets. As major financial institutions enter the space, being regulated has become a real competitive advantage.

Compliance is part of the Triple-A product, so it needs to be built into the customer experience. Wherever possible, we automate checks and take a risk-based approach, while maintaining the standards regulators demand. If a company cuts corners on compliance, it might save some time initially, but it can put the entire business at risk.

I see genuine potential. AI agents will increasingly need to pay for services, data and computing resources autonomously. Stablecoins are a natural fit because they're programmable, global, and available 24/7. But we still need clear rules around authorisation, accountability, and compliance before this can scale.

One of my biggest mistakes was delegating compliance too early when I was building my first regulated business. I assumed I could hire a Chief Compliance Officer and leave it to them, just like I would with other functions. I quickly learnt that compliance starts with the CEO. You need to understand the risks, processes, and regulatory requirements yourself. My lesson: compliance is too important to delegate without fully understanding it.

Regulatory status. Make sure your provider is properly licensed and can reliably settle funds in the currencies and markets your business needs.

I believe stablecoins will become a standard part of global payment infrastructure. My ambition is for Triple-A to be one of the key institutions making that possible, and connecting digital currencies with local payment networks worldwide. Ultimately, businesses shouldn't have to think about which rails their money travels on.

Look beyond the technology and focus on the real problems. The biggest opportunities in stablecoins are in making payments cheaper, faster and more accessible. That's where I believe the next wave of adoption will come from.

Visit triple-a.io or connect with me on LinkedIn or X.com.