N3XT Unveils Tokenized Cross-Border Payments

Blockchain-powered bank N3XT has secured approval from Wyoming regulators to let customers use its digital token to transact with foreign counterparties, Bloomberg reported Monday (Aug. 17), citing its interview with N3XT Founder Scott Shay.

This approval will enable N3XT to offer its customers instant overseas transfers to not only the bank’s customers but also non-customers, putting the bank in direct competition with messaging network Swift, according to the report.

N3XT will use technology commonly found in the crypto and digital asset industry to offer a tokenized cross-border payment option. Because the bank takes deposits in dollars and holds the money in cash or short-term securities, rather than lending it out, it always has liquidity on hand to complete transactions, the report said.

Shay expects this offering to draw clients in the shipping and logistics industries as well as the crypto sector, according to the report.

N3XT plans to announce the new service Tuesday (Aug. 18) at the Wyoming Blockchain Summit in Jackson, Wyoming, per the report.

N3XT announced in December that it had launched as a fully blockchain-powered bank designed to enable clients to make instant, programmable B2B payments in U.S. dollars at any hour, on any day.

PYMNTS reported in June 2024 that firms were increasingly exploring the potential of blockchain solutions for simplifying cross-border payment execution while capturing improved cash flow and liquidity management.

Blockchain technology holds promise to transform the landscape by offering a streamlined, cost-effective and secure alternative to conventional methods, which have been shackled by high costs, slow settlement times and a lack of transparency in traditional payment rails, the report said.

Swift announced in July that its blockchain-based ledger is ready for use and that 17 banks are preparing live pilot transactions on the ledger, which supports 24/7 cross-border payments with tokenized deposits.

The Bank for International Settlements said in May that it and its partners delivered a prototype that demonstrated tokenized commercial bank deposits could be combined with the “trust and safety” of tokenized central bank reserves using a shared platform. BIS added that the prototype allows for atomic, multi-currency settlement of wholesale cross-border payments.

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