U.S Neobank Slash Debuts Stablecoin with Stripe's Bridge for Global Business Payments

Yahoo

3 days ago

Slash, a San Francisco-based neobank for businesses, launched a payments and treasury platform powered by a new U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Stripe's Bridge on Tuesday.
The product, called the Global USD Account, is aimed at companies seeking U.S. dollar access and cross-border payments without a U.S. bank account. It introduces Slash's own stablecoin, USDSL, which lets users store, send and receive dollars or stablecoins in one account, the company announced.
The setup aims to shorten settlement times and remove foreign exchange fees for cross-border payments to U.S. suppliers, the company said in an interview with CoinDesk.
Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrencies pegged to external assets like the U.S. dollar, have grown into a $250 billion market, often touted as a faster, cheaper option for international payments. Interest in the sector has accelerated since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, setting new federal standards for stablecoin issuers.
Global banks and retailers including Amazon and Walmart are reportedly exploring stablecoin products, and payments firms like PayPal and Stripe have made significant moves in the space. Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge last year for $1.1 billion.
Slash's first foray into stablecoins allowed customers to send and receive USDC (USDC) and USDT (USDT) payments on the platform without having to hold the tokens, converting them automatically to U.S. dollars.
"It's super interesting because we were very much not a crypto company," Cardenas said, adding that he personally didn't know much about blockchain technology. "But then we had these wholesalers and marketing agencies telling us we need to have stablecoin payments to accept money from customers at lower cost."
"So we shipped it for them," he said.
Launched in December, that feature now already processes nearly $1 billion annualized volume and inspired the firm to go bigger with stablecoins, Cardenas said.
The firm now targets crypto companies that want to consolidate their treasury management that previously needed separate accounts at traditional banks, exchanges and custody providers. With the new slate of products, clients can convert between stablecoins, manage balances and off-ramp to U.S. bank accounts through ACH, wire or SWIFT transfers. They can also earn yield on their balances without triggering securities rules, the company said.
Future plans include launching a card that lets businesses spend their stablecoin balances and potentially a wallet for holding other crypto assets, Cardenas said.
In May, Slash raised $41 million in a Series B round led by Goodwater Capital, valuing the company at $370 million.