Payment Orchestration with Stablecoins

Stablecoins are transforming how global payments are made, promising faster and more efficient international transfers. However, in practice, these transactions often depend on fiat currency at some point — creating what is known as a “stablecoin sandwich”.

This model can reduce international settlement times by days, but manual coordination among multiple parties still limits its scalability. Payment orchestration emerges as a solution to overcome these challenges, especially in Brazil, where innovation in payment systems is paving the way for significant transformations. Let’s explore how Brazil, a market with high demand for payment efficiency and innovation, can lead this transformation.

Let’s explore how Brazil, a market with high demand for efficiency and innovation in payments, can lead this transformation.

What is Payment Orchestration?

Payment orchestration is the process of integrating and managing different stages and providers involved in a financial transaction within a single technological layer, much like a conductor unifies melodies and instruments to achieve perfect harmony. Instead of companies dealing with multiple intermediaries—such as banks, liquidity providers, and local rails—payment orchestration connects everything into a unified interface.

With this approach, businesses can automate decisions on the best payment route (optimizing cost, speed, and reliability), monitor each step in real-time, and reduce failures. In Brazil’s dynamic and demanding financial system, orchestration is essential to simplify complexity and drive efficiency.

Stablecoins: Accelerated agility in a fiat-dominated world

Stablecoins have proven to be a powerful solution for global payments, acting as a fast lane to settle payments to freelancers, vendors, and suppliers in minutes. In Brazil, where exchange rate volatility is a constant concern for businesses and individuals, stablecoins like USDC or USDT not only offer protection against the devaluation of the real (BRL) but also provide low-cost and globally accessible transfer options.

Despite their benefits, the current landscape is still largely dominated by fiat currencies. In Brazil, the use of the real remains essential for most local transactions, such as bill payments, daily purchases, and other routine expenses. Therefore, in the short and medium term, the use of stablecoins often depends on a fiat component to bridge the digital paradigm and the traditional economy.

This dynamic forms what is known as a “stablecoin sandwich”: stablecoins accelerate the core of transactions, especially in international transfers, but the initial and final steps still require conversions to and from fiat currencies.

A future being built for stablecoins

As stablecoin adoption grows and payment infrastructures evolve, a future where stablecoins become a complete payment medium without the need for fiat conversions comes into view. In this scenario, people can choose to receive, hold, and spend directly in stablecoins, fully harnessing their benefits: 24/7 availability, global reach, and reduced costs.

While fiat is still necessary for many transactions today, the disruptive potential of stablecoins points toward a future where local and global economies can operate more seamlessly and efficiently, with fast, accessible, and borderless payments.

What is the stablecoin sandwich in the Brazilian context?

Currently, stablecoins optimize international transfers, but inflows and outflows often occur in fiat currency. Here’s how this applies to Brazil:

1. International remittances to Brazil

Imagine a Brazilian worker in the United States sending money to their family in Brazil:

• The sender pays in USD to a local remittance provider.

• The provider converts USD to stablecoins and transfers them to a partner in Brazil.

• The partner in Brazil converts the stablecoins to BRL and distributes the funds directly to local bank accounts.

  

This model allows the recipient to receive the funds on the same day—a significant improvement over traditional methods.

2. Payments from global marketplaces

A Brazilian seller on an international e-commerce platform receives payments from foreign buyers:

• The payment is received in USD or EUR by the e-commerce payment provider.

• The provider converts the amount to stablecoins and sends them to a partner in Brazil.

• The partner in Brazil converts the stablecoins to BRL and makes the final payment to the seller via Pix or bank transfer.

  

This process eliminates long waits and high fees associated with international transfers.

3. Payments to Brazilian suppliers

A company in the United States contracts suppliers in Brazil for services or products:

• Payment is made in USD and converted to stablecoins by a payment partner.

• The partner in Brazil converts the stablecoins to BRL and makes the final payment directly to the supplier’s account in Brazil.

  

This flow significantly reduces transaction costs and accelerates payment timelines, offering a competitive advantage to local suppliers.

The challenges of manual management in the stablecoin sandwich

Despite its efficiency, this model involves multiple actors and stages:

• Conversion from fiat to stablecoins.

• Conversion from stablecoins to BRL.

• Final payment through a local rail like Pix or bank transfer.

In Brazil, this can be challenging due to the complexity of the financial system and regulatory requirements. Manual coordination is time-consuming and hinders scalability.

Lumx Solution: End-to-End Payment Orchestration

Lumx has the support and partnership of BTG, the largest investment bank in Latin America, and our strategic partner and investor, for direct minting of USDC and access to USDT and other stablecoins. This ensures we not only offer the best market rates by eliminating multiple intermediary spreads, but also the highest liquidity, even in high transaction volumes, enabling the delivery of a solution that eliminates the need for multiple intermediaries by integrating all payment steps into a single platform.

How does our orchestration work in Brazil?

• Complete solution: Infrastructure for smart digital wallets with flexible custody models, as well as direct connection to BTG to provide liquidity for stablecoins and local rails like Pix.

• Optimized routing: Automatic selection of the fastest, most economical, and reliable routes for each transaction.

• Automation and visibility: Companies can execute and track global payments on demand through just a few API calls.

This approach transforms the "stablecoin sandwich" into a smooth, scalable, and accessible model for businesses in Brazil.

Multi-Rail Orchestration: The Next Step for Global Payments

At Lumx, we believe that payment orchestration with stablecoins is just the beginning. With us, a multi-rail orchestration model that combines stablecoins, local rails like Pix, and high-speed blockchains to create the best payment experience is already a reality.

With a single payment API, companies can:

• Automate payments in stablecoins and BRL.

• Minimize failures in international transactions.

• Ensure low costs and short timelines, making cross-border payments truly borderless.

If you're looking to scale stablecoin usage and simplify international payments to and from Brazil, contact us. We are ready to transform your financial processes and take your payments into the future.

Text adapted from an article by Chris Harmse, Co-Founder @BVNK