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S'pore firms eager to tap stablecoins and AI for overseas expansion
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Ms Sarita Singh, Stripe's managing director for Southeast Asia, India and Greater China, said stablecoins offer the speed and the reach to stay competitive in a global economy.
SINGAPORE – Artificial intelligence and digital currency could help local firms keen on expanding abroad, but they face hurdles such as differing regulations in new markets , noted a study.
It found that 85 per cent of businesses polled were confident about reaching customers in new markets within the next year while 62 per cent plan to adopt stablecoins for payments.
Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to a currency, commodity or financial instrument to reduce price volatility. They are seen as a more stable medium of exchange – particularly for international trade – than volatile tokens like bitcoin.
Yet around 25 per cent of those surveyed said they were not familiar with stablecoins, with only 19 per cent already using them.
The poll also noted that 93 per cent of respondents are already using or intend to adopt agentic AI within the next 12 months, while 50 per cent or so expect at least 11 per cent of their sales to come from AI-driven channels by 2030.
The study of 400 business owners and senior decision makers in Singapore was conducted in July by payments giant Stripe.
Ms Sarita Singh, Stripe's managing director for Southeast Asia, India and Greater China, said that cross-border payments in Singapore surged over 30 per cent year on year in 2024.
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'We expect new technologies like stablecoins and AI to accelerate businesses' growth,' she added.
Around 60 per cent of businesses here expect cross-border sales to grow over the next 12 months, but they face hurdles expanding to new markets, with differing regulations as well as shipping and logistics challenges the main concerns.
Ms Singh, who was speaking at Stripe Tour 2025 on Aug 20, said stablecoins offer the speed and the reach to stay competitive in a global economy.
She also pointed to Singapore's announcement of a stablecoin regulatory framework in 2023 that in turn sparked similar moves from Hong Kong, South Korea and other economies.
Stripe unveiled new products and updates focused on stablecoins and AI at its annual event, held this year at Marina Bay Sands.
The company, which provides financial services tools to businesses, introduced over 50 upgrades across payments, revenue and embedded finance tools. It also processes stablecoin payments from around 120 countries and recently announced stablecoin financial accounts for customers from more than 100 countries.
Stripe introduced an AI foundation model earlier this year that can detect complex payment patterns and signals that were previously out of reach.
This allowed the firm to lift its detection rate for attacks on large businesses by 64 per cent.
