Cross-border payments between Australia and the United States have traditionally meant high fees, slow settlement, and multiple intermediaries. As digital assets move from experimentation into real business use, XDC Network is rolling out blockchain-based infrastructure designed to make international payments faster, cheaper, and easier for companies on one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
In our conversation, Sean White, Ecosystem and Business Development Manager at XDC Network, shares why Australia is becoming an important market for digital payments, how stablecoins are reshaping cross-border settlement, and what these changes could mean for banks, regulators, and businesses looking for more efficient ways to move money across borders.
Australia–US payments are still slow and expensive today. What changes most for businesses using XDC’s new settlement infrastructure?
A digital wallet, a strong partner as custodian, and a good accountant – in my personal opinion, these are all essential, and obvious changes, to doing ‘business’ in the web3 world. That being said, since I do not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL), I must be mindful not to provide anything that could be construed as financial advice under Australian law.
From your perspective, why is Australia a particularly strong market for blockchain-based payments right now?
It is fair to say that Australians have long been keen and astute managers of money – and various other resources, like TIME. We also hate being ripped off; we have a ‘fair go’ mentality. Not to say we always get it right, as often the devil is in the details when placing processes under granular inspection – but if we see a way of doing things faster and cheaper – while maintaining security and certain privacies, then we go for it!
What makes AUDD suitable for real trade and invoice payments, when assets like Bitcoin are too volatile for most companies to use?
$AUDD is somewhat of an ‘OG’ in the stablecoin space, on a global – and, certainly, on a local level.
The key differentiator of a stablecoin is stability and purpose. $AUDD is a fully reserved Australian dollar–backed stablecoin designed specifically for payments and settlement, not speculation. That means businesses can price invoices, settle trades, and manage cash flow without worrying about value swings between the time a payment is sent and received.
When you combine that stability with XDC’s fast, low-cost settlement layer, AUDD becomes a practical digital payment instrument for real trade – something volatile assets like Bitcoin were never designed to support.
Over these last 3 years, XDC Network has developed implicit trust with the AUDD Digital team, and is respectful of their cumulative experience that underpins their establishment as a fully-reserved, on-demand-minted, native multi-chain $AUD fiat-pegged stablecoin with segregated $AUD trust-account backing.
With de-dollarisation, or at least a poly/multi-polar currency future, I can see many Australian businesses interested in exchanging in our native notes. This is certainly worth keeping in front of mind, and allowing services to have the option to support local $AUD.
XDC’s US dollar settlement system has processed over $1 billion in transactions in the past 90 days. What does that level of activity tell you about enterprise demand for blockchain-based payment rails?
Our integration with Circle’s $USDC, including their cross-chain transfer protocol, has started with an acceleration of adoption, almost vertical adoption these early months. It shows, equally, the appetite of XDC’s existing Web3 partners – and the broader market’s thirst for a more agile network that can deliver both reliability and speed.
Australian banks have long controlled cross-border payments through correspondent banking. Do you see this infrastructure as something banks will integrate with, or as a fundamentally new model that could bypass traditional rails altogether?
There is obviously a push-pull transition happening, and I expect that to continue. While integration is key, stablecoins enable a fundamentally new model for non-bank players. $AUDD on various DLTs (including XDC), for example, is becoming a ‘ubiquitous disruptor’ by bypassing intermediaries entirely, settling in seconds for exporters, importers, and remittances – particularly in underbanked regions or high-volume corridors like Asia-Pacific.
However, I expect a hybrid future; Australian banks will likely integrate stablecoin/DLT infrastructure to upgrade their rails, driven by pilots, regulations, and competitive pressures. I think the window for them is closing rapidly, though.
How does this Australia–US corridor build on earlier integrations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE, and what does that say about XDC’s global strategy?
Much of XDC’s early strategies centred around trade corridors, so the footprint of engagement and utility laid foundations for supply chain, trade digitisation, and related financial instruments. Since those early days, we have generated many payment corridors off the back of our XDC Payments offering. This means we are spreading our arms further around the globe, irrespective of trade doc regulatory access (MLETR or ETD model law adoptions).
It is an exciting time for XDC, to break this new ground around the world, finding our way into Australia, of course with $AUDD, but also fast-emerging web3 regions in LATAM, Central America, and Africa – right through the hemispheres into the ‘global north’ via USDC, EURS.
Frankly, it is a trend line we can expect to continue.
For smaller Australian businesses operating on tight margins, where do you see the biggest cost or efficiency gains from using this infrastructure?
Once local regulators persuade parliamentarians to enact the requisite legislative upgrades related to stablecoin utility – like Forex simplifications, sensible handling of GST credits and capital gains for businesses – then we can see the floodgates open. It is not merely cheaper transactions, but capital velocities that become a game-changer for businesses that want their money to work harder for them; not just working for their lender or banking custodian.
Throw this into the mix with trade, with trade docs also moving at the speed of blockchain – then we have some very good news for traders, and our economy at large. Money circulates more to the broader economy, under the infrastructure of web3.
If platforms like XDC continue to scale, what do you think the global payments landscape will look like for banks and businesses five years from now?
Scaling is ultimately the keyword here. The USA and Europe have made it clear. Regulations and legislation are driving adoption. The technology isn’t the issue anymore. Delegated Proof of Stake DLTs – or similar – solve the speed and enterprise scaling issues. Interoperability is solved with the likes of Chainlink, RedStone, PlugIn, etc – we are now moving to scale.
Banks will become digital (some already are, eg Zand) – currency will move instantly, as will documents, and data – but with the confidence of immutability and traceability afforded by various reliable blockchains.
Finally, for companies still relying on traditional banking rails, what do you think will ultimately push them to adopt blockchain-based payment systems?
The reality of real-time gross settlements and straight-through processing will become irresistible. Like a case of mumps, it will criss-cross jurisdictions and ‘present’ everywhere! The catalyst for adoption? Solutions to digital identity becoming more palatable, with an array of ‘winners’ – hopefully each based on merit and decentralised philosophies, leveraging the best of DLT and zero-knowledge approaches.
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Source: https://finbold.com/sean-white-xdc-network-interview/
