Hyundai Card Trials USDT on Avalanche for Cross-Border Pay

Hyundai Card has completed its first live stablecoin-based cross-border remittance, settling a $20,000 intercompany payment between Hyundai Motor's U.S. and Mexican entities in roughly seven minutes. The transaction ran on the Avalanche blockchain using Tether's USDT, and was executed as an actual intercompany settlement rather than a sandbox experiment.

How the USDT on Avalanche Transfer Worked

For the proof-of-concept, Hyundai Motor America converted $20,000 into USDT, moved the stablecoins across Avalanche to Hyundai's Mexico unit, and then reconverted the funds into U.S. dollars. Hyundai Card reported the full process took about seven minutes, a significant improvement versus the three-to-four hours typical for conventional interbank transfers. The pilot demonstrates how stablecoin remittances and blockchain payments can accelerate international settlements.

Operational and regulatory steps

Unlike a laboratory demo, Hyundai Card said the PoC involved real operational requirements. The team completed regulatory reviews, legal and tax assessments, internal controls, and the overall remittance design. Blockchain payments firm Axiym also participated in facilitating the transaction. A Hyundai Card spokesperson emphasized the project was driven by actual intercompany settlement needs rather than being a theoretical blockchain experiment.

Expanding the Pilot: Europe, Visa and Circle

Building on the initial trial, Hyundai Card plans a second proof-of-concept in Europe later this month. That phase will include payments network Visa and USDC issuer Circle, and will test stablecoin remittances using multiple local currencies instead of solely U.S. dollars. The European pilot aims to assess whether stablecoin transfers on chains like Avalanche and using tokens such as USDC can reduce costs and complexity for international corporate settlements.

Industry Context: Growing Stablecoin Adoption for Cross-Border Payments

The Hyundai Card trial joins a growing number of initiatives exploring stablecoin infrastructure for remittances, treasury management and cross-border payouts. Recent collaborations include SBI Remit's partnership with Fasset to build stablecoin rails for remittances and treasury services, and MassPay's integration of Coinbase's USDC payment infrastructure to scale global payouts across 180 countries.

Benefits for businesses

Proponents argue that stablecoin funding and blockchain payments can shorten settlement times, cut transaction costs, and reduce the need to prefund accounts in multiple markets. By keeping liquidity available while settlements occur on-chain, companies may free working capital and improve treasury efficiency for international operations.

Outlook

As banks, payment providers and corporates test live use cases, stablecoin payment infrastructure is gaining traction as an alternative or complement to traditional banking rails for cross-border remittances. Hyundai Card’s USDT-on-Avalanche trial is a practical example of how stablecoins could be integrated into corporate settlement workflows, with broader pilots planned to test multi-currency and multi-party scenarios.