If you have been following the fintech space, you have probably heard the term “stablecoin” thrown around. But what exactly is a stablecoin, and why does it matter for international money transfers?
A stablecoin is a type of digital currency designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged 1:1 to a traditional currency like the US dollar. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, whose prices can swing wildly in a single day, stablecoins like USDC and USDT are engineered to always be worth approximately $1. They achieve this by holding reserves of actual dollars (or dollar-equivalent assets) in audited bank accounts.
For cross-border payments, stablecoins solve a fundamental problem: how do you move value across borders without the delays and fees of the traditional banking system? When you send USDC from Dubai to Lagos, the transaction settles on a blockchain in seconds. There are no correspondent banks taking cuts. No 3-day settlement windows. No opaque exchange rate markups.
At Shaheen Money, we use stablecoins as the rails beneath our payment infrastructure. When you send money through our platform, your funds are converted to stablecoins, transferred across borders in seconds, and then converted to local currency at the destination. The entire process takes under 30 seconds. You never need to understand blockchain to use it — the technology is invisible, working behind the scenes to make your transfer faster and cheaper than any traditional alternative.
Self-custody wallets take this a step further. Instead of converting immediately, you can hold stablecoins in your own wallet and choose when to convert. If the exchange rate improves tomorrow, you wait. Your money, your timing, your control.