The search for faster, more resilient and more interoperable global settlement infrastructure continues to intensify as financial institutions, corporates and fintechs confront the limits of legacy cross-border payment systems. At the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2025, the theme of the “new payments and settlement layer” places emphasis on how stablecoins, tokenised deposits, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and hybrid architectures will shape the decade ahead. MetaComp, a Singapore-licensed Web2.5 cross-border payments and digital-assets solutions provider, has introduced the StableX Network, powered by its StableX Engine (a cross-border foreign exchange (FX) infrastructure platform) and VisionX Engine (a real-time risk-intelligence system connecting Web2/fiat monitoring with Web3 /stablecoin/crypto behavioural analytics) as its response to these structural challenges.  

The company’s co-president Tin Pei Ling outlined how these capabilities are designed to deliver instant, compliant and interoperable settlement across Web2, Web2.5 and Web3 environments  — forming what MetaComp describes as a trusted Web2.5 environment, bridging Web2 and Web3 —  with specific focus on the frictions faced by small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), the evolution of stablecoin-powered payments and the need to rebuild trust in decentralised finance.

Addressing structural pain points in cross-border payments

Tin frames MetaComp’s strategy around the deep and persistent structural inefficiencies embedded in current cross-border settlement. She identified “the inefficiency or the time delays needed in doing cross-border settlement” as a fundamental problem, noting that settlement today “could range from two to seven working days.” These delays, she explained, are amplified by the “fragmentation of geography, regulations and technology.”

The implications for SMEs are especially acute. She highlighted examples from a white paper co-authored with INSEAD, where SMEs suffered material losses due to verification delays, including one that “lost a deal altogether” and another that saw “a drop of 50% in revenue.” With SMEs representing “more than 90% of global businesses and also more than half of global employment,” disruptions to liquidity and settlement speed generate systemic economic consequences.

The broader trade environment reinforces these pressures. Despite global uncertainty and geopolitical shocks, Tin observed that trade continues to grow, particularly across emerging markets. She noted that outbound China–ASEAN trade “grew by 9.7% despite all that,” underscoring the widening volume of payment flows that require more efficient infrastructure.

The unpredictability of geopolitics also elevates settlement risk. Tariff shocks and abrupt policy changes shift supply chains and cash-flow cycles, increasing the need for settlement that is “as fast as possible best instant,” to prevent funds from being “caught in transit” when conditions change.

In this environment, she said, StableX Engine i s positioned as a Web2.5 settlement engine that delivers “T+0 fiat and stablecoin conversions and compliant in nature,” enabling transactions to be completed instantly while meeting regulatory requirements.

StableX  Network as a unified Web2.5 settlement and FX engine

StableX Engine is presented as a FX aggregator built to navigate a fragmented and fast-changing global payment landscape. Tin explained that the engine is capable of “T+0 conversions” across fiat-to-fiat, fiat-to-stable and stable-to-stable pairs. Its smart routing mechanism evaluates cost, speed and settlement certainty, choosing between the swift network or stablecoin rails depending on corridor conditions. Pricing is produced “within three seconds,” enabling users to make immediate settlement decisions.
The platform supports major global currencies, including Singapore and Hong Kong dollars, and reaches “more than 130 countries.” It also operates with a range of stablecoins such as “USDC and USDT”, with Tin noting that while United States dollar-backed stablecoins dominate today, the market is likely to see increasing interest in “local fiat denominated stablecoins.”

StableX Network is designed to support payment corridors involving emerging markets across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, where Tin sees a growing demand for faster, compliant and resilient cross-border settlement solutions.

VisionX  Engine and the need to rebuild trust in decentralised finance

Tin positioned VisionX  Engine as a response to what she described as a persistent “trust deficit in decentralised finance (DeFi).” Despite increasing attention on stablecoins, she noted that high-profile industry failures such as Terra Luna and FTX “cast a long shadow” on regulators, enterprises and segments of the public.

VisionX Engine addresses this through a three-layer trust architecture. The first is institutional trust, where traditional financial institutions serve as anchor nodes because regulators already trust their “extensive experience, capabilities and data dealing with the traditional know-your-customer (KYC) and transaction monitoring.”

The second layer is regulatory trust. As more jurisdictions formalise stablecoin regulations, Tin expects that “compliance by design becomes important,” making it essential for stablecoin-powered payment solutions to integrate supervisory expectations into their core architecture.

The third is industry trust, which she associated with the creation of public-utility-grade infrastructure. Tin noted the need for components such as “verified digital identity, transaction attestations, risk profile,” and secure, interoperable data-sharing. She argued that when ecosystem participants can “connect and triangulate” fragmented information, they could construct “a fuller and more accurate profile of the parties engaged in transactions,” spanning Web2 fiat endpoints and Web3 on-chain endpoints.

VisionX Engine therefore functions as the compliance and monitoring layer that enables StableX Network  to deliver instant settlement without compromising regulatory certainty or institutional integrity.

Interoperability as the foundation for the next settlement layer

Interoperability sits at the core of MetaComp’s Web2.5 architecture. Tin emphasised that the company is not seeking to replace existing payment systems but to provide an alternative that is instant, compliant and operationally flexible. She described the firm’s ambition as enabling partners to “execute instant compliant and interoperable cross-border transactions” by “connecting the Web2, Fiat world to theWeb3, stablecoin world specifically, and also multi chains.”

This positioning aligns with the SFF 2025 agenda on rebuilding payment infrastructure as a multi-rail environment where stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenised deposits and legacy rails operate side by side. Tin noted that the StableX Network  provides “a unified Web2.5 infrastructure, enabling risk monitoring as well as settlement,” allowing users to leverage multiple rails depending on corridor conditions.
She added that as new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) emerge, MetaComp intends to integrate these capabilities to “strengthen our value and service offering,” suggesting a future where AI enhances compliance, monitoring and route optimisation in hybrid settlement systems.

Navigating regulatory evolution and future outlook

Tin characterised the regulatory landscape as fast-moving, particularly as more authorities devote attention to stablecoins and digital settlement. She highlighted the importance of monitoring “the latest concern and development” and participating in consultation processes, noting that MAS “has always been great at consulting the industry.”

This regulatory engagement informs platform design and reinforces MetaComp’s focus on compliance by design. Tin acknowledged that evolving global guidelines introduce risk but stressed the importance of alignment with supervisory objectives, as the market transitions to tokenised settlement.

Looking ahead to 2030, her outlook is that “stablecoin powered payments will become mainstream” and that MetaComp aims to be “one of the critical players” providing the unified Web2.5 infrastructure needed to support this transition.

Towards a more resilient and interoperable global settlement architecture

MetaComp’s StableX Network — powered by its two engines, StableX Engine and VisionX Engine — is emerging as an infrastructure response  to two converging structural pressures: the persistent operational drag created by fragmented cross-border settlement systems, and the erosion of trust in decentralised finance, following years of high-profile failures. Tin’s framing highlighted the importance of instant settlement, regulatory-grade compliance and multi-rail interoperability as core requirements for the next phase of digital payments.

The SFF 2025 theme on the new payments and settlement layer provides context for these developments. As the industry explores how stablecoins, tokenised deposits and hybrid architectures can reduce frictions and increase resilience, the success of such systems will depend on the ability to combine technological speed with institutional and regulatory trust. Tin’s perspective suggests that the shift towards Web2.5 and Web3 settlement will be gradual but decisive, with the mainstreaming of stablecoin-powered payments expected by 2030 contingent on strong governance, broad industry participation and infrastructure capable of bridging fiat and digital-asset environments.