As 2024 comes to a close and 2025 is about to begin, this moment offers opportunities to reflect on our incredible journey throughout the year. Marking a decade of growth, innovation, and impactful partnership, 2024 solidified StraitsX’s position as Southeast Asia's leading payment infrastructure provider. Let’s revisit some of our key milestones and achievements in 2024, a year that highlighted our commitment to compliance, innovation, and collaboration.

Celebrating Our 10th Anniversary as a Payment Services Pioneer

This year, StraitsX proudly celebrated its 10th anniversary - a significant milestone in our journey as a trusted payment service provider. Over the past decade, we have continuously evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing and growing digital economy, building the foundation for seamless, secure, and efficient digital payment solutions. 

From our beginnings as Xfers which started with the commitment to becoming the leading payment gateway provider to our transformation into StraitsX, offering stablecoin-powered payment solutions leveraging blockchain technology, this anniversary reflects our growth and a testament to the enduring trust of our clients and partners. We’re deeply grateful for the journey that has brought us here and excited to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation and collaboration by building seamless payment solutions. 

Securing MPI Licenses: A Testament to Our Compliance-first Commitment

In July 2024, StraitsX achieved another remarkable regulatory milestone by obtaining additional  Major Payment Institution (MPI) licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). These new licenses, under StraitsX Payment Services Pte. Ltd., StraitsX USD Issuance Pte. Ltd., and StraitsX SGD Issuance Pte. Ltd., complement our existing MPI license held by Xfers Pte. Ltd. (XPL). 

With these expanded licenses, StraitsX can now offer an enhanced suite of services, including digital payment token (DPT) solutions, account issuance, domestic money transfer, cross-border money transfer, merchant acquisition, and streamlined fiat payment processes. 

This achievement underscores our unwavering commitment to compliance and regulatory excellence, aligning with our mission to become Southeast Asia’s leading regulated payment infrastructure provider. It is a critical step forward as we continue to build trust and empower businesses and individuals to become part of the global digital economy. This milestone sets the stage for even greater opportunities as we strengthen our regional presence and influence.

Introducing XUSD, the StraitsX US Dollar- pegged Stablecoin

We also launched XUSD to the world, our US dollar-pegged stablecoin. As the third addition to the StraitsX stablecoins - joining XSGD and XIDR, XUSD strengthens our growing suite of digital currency offerings. Designed to facilitate swift, global, and 24/7 payments, the single-currency stablecoin (SCS) is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, with reserve assets held in cash or its equivalent.  

The launch of XUSD represents the pivotal step in solidifying StraitsX’s position within Southeast Asia’s cross-border payments economy. By bridging ASEAN’s financial ecosystem with the stability of the world’s primary reserve currency, XUSD empowers users with seamless digital asset solutions. 

Stay tuned for further developments next year as we expand the use cases and ecosystem of XUSD, driving greater innovation and adoption across the digital payments landscape.

A Groundbreaking Partnership with Alipay and Grab

In what is arguably our most transformative partnership yet, StraitsX played a pivotal role in enabling the seamless integration of Alipay+-powered e-wallets and GrabPay’s extensive merchant network in Singapore. This partnership redefined payments for inbound tourists and merchants via Purpose Bound Money by enabling tourists across multiple countries to use their preferred e-wallets to make payments at any Singapore GrabPay merchant. At the backend, merchants receive an instant settlement in SGD, facilitated by XSGD, ensuring smooth and efficient transactions. This collaboration not only enhances the payment experience for tourists but also showcases the versatility of StraitsX stablecoins in powering cross-border payment solutions.

Engaging with the Community at Leading Events

2024 was also a year of meaningful engagements with the community across different events. StraitsX had the privilege of attending and hosting several key events, including:

• Once upon an X: Our flagship event celebrating a decade of StraitsX with our partners and stakeholders.
• Stablecoin Leadership Night: Co-hosted with FailSafe and Polygon Labs, this was a befitting curtain-raiser to TOKEN2049 Singapore, and a thought-provoking evening dedicated to discussing the evolving role of stablecoins in modern finance. 
• FutureFlows - A Night for Payments and Innovation: Together with Avalanche and Merkle Science, we kicked off Singapore FinTech Festival Week with a night of insightful discussions and networking to explore the future of blockchain-powered digital payment solutions.
• Singapore Fintech Festival: The premier platform for showcasing our solutions and connecting with industry leaders; we had a blast meeting up with valued partners and our customers over the 3 days!

Each event was an opportunity to share insights, foster collaboration, and reaffirm our commitment to driving the future of digital payments.

As we wrap up 2024, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our clients, partners, and teams for their unwavering support and trust. It’s your collaboration and dedication that have made this year so impactful.

Here’s to a greater 2025, where we continue to innovate, lead, and redefine the possibilities of payments together. Cheers to the journey ahead.