Editor: Jae, PANews

In the major trend of Web3 moving from virtual to real, the application scenarios of stablecoins are accelerating from the crypto-native market to the real economy, especially in the cross-border payment sector, where efficiency pain points are prominent. Compliant stablecoins are seen as a core component of the new generation of solutions. Rita Liu, CEO of Yuanbi Technology, is undoubtedly a leading figure in the stablecoin sector. Recently, PANews conducted an exclusive interview with Rita Liu to explore Yuanbi Technology's product innovation, ecological layout, and her unique insights into the PayFi industry.

Rita Liu's career spans traditional finance and cutting-edge technology. She has worked in the internet finance sector for many years and has witnessed the entire process of mobile payment from its inception to widespread adoption. Now, she brings the concept of "trust as the cornerstone" into the Web3 world, insisting on compliance as the anchor and ecology as the sail, promoting the full-chain innovation of stablecoins from the asset layer to the application layer.

Under Rita Liu's leadership, Yuanbi Technology aims to become a bridge between crypto finance and the real economy by building integrated facilities such as wallets and deposit/withdrawal services, allowing traditional enterprises to access next-generation payment solutions. Yuanbi Technology has now formed a dual-engine layout covering the regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance and payment innovation. On one hand, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yuanbi Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., will participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's stablecoin issuer sandbox in July 2024; on the other hand, the new brand "OristaPay" focuses on B2B cross-border settlement scenarios, achieving breakthroughs in minute-level payments and settlements. Rita Liu believes that the true value of stablecoins lies in "making every payment more efficient, transparent, and trustworthy."

When discussing the current state and future of the industry, Rita Liu deeply analyzed the pain points of global cross-border payments, shared Yuanbi Technology's ecological blueprint under a compliant framework, and envisioned the future trend of the PayFi sector moving from "a hundred flowers blooming" to "super applications." She emphasized that true innovation does not lie in chasing trends but in deeply cultivating scenarios and refining experiences, making stablecoins a "needed" solution in the real economy.

The following is a transcript of the interview:

Focused on B2B Cross-Border Settlement

PANews: Nice to meet you, Rita. Please introduce yourself and review the development history of Yuanbi Technology.

Rita Liu: I am Rita Liu, the CEO of Yuanbi Technology. Yuanbi Technology was established in Hong Kong in 2020 and now has two major business lines. The first is the wholly-owned subsidiary Yuanbi Innovation Technology, which is related to stablecoin innovation and entered the Hong Kong stablecoin issuer sandbox last July. The second is the payment innovation business line, which we announced at the end of September with a new brand called OristaPay. In short, all of our business lines are related to stablecoin payments, and we support different business lines through different entities. Our vision is to facilitate the real adoption of stablecoins in the real economy, assist cross-border trade in solving payment challenges, and expand the application scenarios of stablecoins.

PANews: You just mentioned the launch of the new brand "OristaPay." Can you share the strategic considerations behind this move?

Rita Liu: The main reason is to distinguish between stablecoin issuance and payment services. On May 21, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the "Stablecoin Regulation Draft." Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Yuanbi Innovation Technology, is working on the regulatory framework for local stablecoins in Hong Kong and actively participating in compliance practices in the Hong Kong fintech sector. Last year, we also entered the stablecoin issuer sandbox.

In the entire stablecoin market, besides issuance, there is a series of related ecosystems. One of them is the stablecoin payment sector, which has become particularly popular since last year. Stablecoin payments actually have different scenarios, such as B2B, B2C, and C2C. OristaPay is a stablecoin payment platform focused on B2B scenarios, which includes functions such as wallets, fiat currency, and withdrawals.

PANews: OristaPay focuses on cross-border payment services. What do you think is the biggest pain point in the current global cross-border payment system?

Rita Liu: I believe that whether in the global payment system or the financial system, there are still inefficiencies or lack of transparency in different links. The current electronic systems have actually evolved from the original paper-based systems and involve many intermediaries. Once there are intermediaries, it becomes easy to lack transparency. For example, in global cross-border payments, we often mention the Swift system, but Swift only handles messaging, which is the information flow.

Suppose I want to remit money from Hong Kong to another country. In addition to Swift sending a message information flow, the clearing and settlement are completed by banks, which are intermediary banks. However, they are just reconciling private accounts, meaning that if you want to remit money to a region where the local financial system is not particularly developed, the local intermediary bank relationships may be limited. For instance, remitting from Hong Kong to a certain African country may involve several intermediary banks, and their existence can lead to a lack of transparency. Which intermediary banks will charge fees? When will the money arrive? This information is all vague.

If stablecoins are used, they integrate the information flow and the capital flow based on blockchain technology, enabling true atomic settlement, meaning payment equals settlement. Value exchanges in any corner of the world can be completed in minutes or even seconds, with efficiency and transparency far exceeding traditional payment methods.

Focusing on Application Scenario Implementation from Hong Kong

PANews: Regarding the issues you just mentioned, what is Yuanbi Technology's differentiated competitive advantage?

Rita Liu: In the long run, I believe Yuanbi's advantages are twofold. The first is the brand. I originally worked in the internet finance industry, and a slogan proposed by Ant Group was particularly memorable: "Because of trust, it is simple." Finance is fundamentally based on trust. From the day Yuanbi was established in 2020, we have made compliance and legality the foundation of our business. Stablecoins must be issued or circulated under the premise of compliance and legality to be truly applied on a large scale.

Over the past five years, regardless of what happens in the market, Yuanbi has always aimed to establish a trustworthy and reliable brand image, which is our unwavering commitment to serving customers. In short, after five years of accumulation, we aim to create a compliant, legal, and trustworthy platform.

The second point is our focus on building a complete ecosystem. All our businesses are related to stablecoins, and regardless of the temptations in the market, we have always been deeply engaged in innovations related to stablecoins, building a stablecoin ecosystem.

People often question whether there are application scenarios for stablecoins once they are issued. We believe that Hong Kong does not lack application scenarios; what is lacking is the practical implementation from 0 to 1, especially for traditional enterprises and individuals. Users may have encountered many stablecoin-related contents on social media but do not know how to use them. Wallets are a typical example; the education cost is very high. However, with the development of technology, the user experience in Web 3 is improving, and the user experience of self-custody wallets is also getting better, including withdrawals and solutions for different application scenarios. Payments are not one-size-fits-all; B2B scenarios and B2C scenarios are completely different, requiring different payment solutions. This brings us back to our original vision of connecting Web 2 and Web 3, where we must combine the advantages of Web 3 with the essence of Web 2.

Through the stablecoin payment platform OristaPay, we provide customers with front-end products, including withdrawals, settlements, and a series of services. Once Hong Kong issues compliant and legal stablecoins, it will be very convenient for customers because they will already have ready-made accounts and infrastructure to use. While laying out the entire ecosystem, we will also conduct a lot of preliminary educational work from the perspective of the real economy to guide a large number of traditional enterprise customers to enter the market.

PANews: In different jurisdictions, the compliance requirements involved in cross-border payments are complex. How does Yuanbi Technology ensure the legality and compliance of its services globally?

Rita Liu: Starting from relatively mainstream countries or regions, global regulation is becoming increasingly mature. First, from the perspective of corporate guidelines, as a company based on compliance and legality, our first reaction in any location is whether the business we are conducting is compliant there. Secondly, from the perspective of global stablecoin regulation, several major jurisdictions have already implemented corresponding legislation, but it is still in the implementation process.

Taking the United States as an example, the "Genius Act" has actually been passed into law, but it has not yet taken effect, and its regulatory details have not yet been released. The regulatory details will include all systems related to the U.S. Treasury, such as anti-money laundering standards, which will have corresponding regulatory details, but these have not yet been issued. Therefore, I believe that the global regulatory process of compliance and legality is still in a relatively early stage.

In the future, major jurisdictions may implement mutual recognition, meaning that assets issued by a company in one jurisdiction can circulate legally and compliantly in another jurisdiction. The "Genius Act" in the U.S. also mentions that mutual recognition standards will be introduced before it takes effect next year. Questions such as which regions can mutually recognize and how mutual recognition standards are formulated may gradually converge in this process. Mutual recognition will bring less friction for companies operating globally. Therefore, I believe this is also an important trend.

PANews: What will be the focus and development priorities of Yuanbi Technology's future business?

Rita Liu: Since its establishment in 2020, Yuanbi Technology has adhered to its principles. In short, we highly recognize the prospects of the stablecoin sector, and there are still many areas in the entire ecosystem that need to be built. We hope to participate in various links. In the next 1 to 2 years, there may be a trend of strong integration, such as forming alliances or so-called "super applications."

Companies need to think about how to capture value more deeply, such as stablecoin issuers developing public chains, and exchanges also issuing stablecoins. Subsequently, payment companies may also develop their own stablecoins or public chains, presenting a flourishing state. Yuanbi's core is compliance and legality-oriented, deeply participating in various links during the integration process, including wallets, deposits, and withdrawals, helping real enterprises adopt legal and compliant stablecoins.

We plan to layout the entire ecosystem. I often mention the "four-layer theory," which includes the clearing layer, asset layer, withdrawal layer, and the top application layer. Yuanbi has not yet developed its own public chain, but we are closely cooperating with shareholders like Hashkey, Solana, and Aptos, which is also part of our layout. Therefore, the full ecosystem layout is an important strategy for us and is crucial for serving the real economy. Once it truly penetrates the real economy, you will find that many users are willing to use it, but the current threshold is still too high.

PANews: What unique advantages does Hong Kong have in the development of stablecoins compared to other regions globally?

Rita Liu: I believe that Hong Kong's unique advantages are very clear. Yuanbi has focused on B2B business from the beginning, and Hong Kong is a global trade settlement center and financial hub. Additionally, Hong Kong has advantages in legal and financial infrastructure, making it very suitable for Web 3-related innovations.

Of course, there may be many similar places globally, but Hong Kong still holds enormous potential and opportunities. After all, before the arrival of the stablecoin era, Hong Kong was already the main settlement center in Greater China. By extension, entering the stablecoin era, Hong Kong is likely to maintain its first-mover advantage. Therefore, it plays a significant window role, and our business unfolds from this point.

Yuanbi focuses on B2B, but serving the real economy is not as easy as everyone imagines. Although companies generally have demands for more efficient and lower-cost solutions than traditional payments, the prerequisite for attracting them to adopt new products is to improve infrastructure and customer experience.

Additionally, compared to other regions globally, Hong Kong's legislative progress related to stablecoin and crypto asset regulation is quite efficient. In the past, financial-related legislation could take 9 months or even over a year from passing to taking effect. However, the legislation for stablecoins took only two and a half months from passing to taking effect, which is unprecedented. This indicates Hong Kong's determination and is also the reason we have always been optimistic about Hong Kong and rooted ourselves here.

PANews: Recently, Paxos accidentally minted and destroyed 300 trillion PYUSD, which has attracted widespread attention in the market. Regarding the risks of such partners, what measures has Yuanbi Technology taken in terms of technical governance and internal control to prevent similar risks?

Rita Liu: The industry currently has a consensus that crypto finance needs to move upward, transitioning from chaotic development to stable and compliant large-scale applications. However, Paxos's "blunder" has also occurred in traditional finance. Every few years, a bank experiences similar issues with incorrect amounts or erroneous transfers because traditional financial institutions operate on centralized ledgers, so such situations have actually happened quite a few times.

Whether in traditional finance or crypto finance, a serious attitude should be taken towards money-related issues, and there needs to be strong risk control and governance in the system. Although traditional finance is not perfect, there are still many aspects of governance and compliance that crypto finance can learn from.

The crypto industry has many advantages at the technical level, but how to build user trust through technology is a question worth deep reflection for the entire industry.

PANews: Yuanbi Technology announced the completion of a $40 million Series A2 financing in July this year. What key investments will be made in products or technology in the future?

Rita Liu: The comprehensive industry layout mentioned earlier needs to truly empower the real economy, and each link involves a significant amount of construction work and resource investment.

At the end of September, we officially announced the establishment of OristaPay, which is actually the first step in clearly delineating our business lines from a branding perspective. OristaPay is designed to provide services to traditional financial institutions and real customers from the perspectives of payment, wallet custody, and user experience.

Our vision has always been to focus on B2B stablecoin infrastructure from the beginning. Wallets are a very important topic in the payment industry because the place where users' assets ultimately reside is the core point.

In fact, there are now B2C or C2C wallets. Our current positioning is to focus on B2B enterprise-level wallets, providing a smoother customer experience for trade enterprises in various traditional sectors to adopt stablecoins to solve their own pain points. In summary, every link in our comprehensive industry layout requires substantial financial support.

PANews: What pain points do you think the PayFi sector is facing at this stage, and what will the next growth curve or mainstream trend be?

Rita Liu: I believe that there are currently no pain points in PayFi innovation; the industry is flourishing, and under the increasingly mature regulatory background in various regions, PayFi has transitioned from a concept to various application scenarios.

I am also very excited about the industry's development, with various applications or businesses emerging, including B2B, B2C, remittances, and payment cards. Different roles in the industry are gradually merging, such as exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and traditional payment institutions all beginning to venture into PayFi. Although we are currently focused on B2B, everyone may be entering from different application scenarios, but the integration of different roles may develop towards "super applications."

The overall challenge facing the industry mainly lies in the different regulatory progress in different jurisdictions. Companies need to comply with local conditions, but this is a normal challenge that all financial institutions face. Therefore, companies need to closely monitor regulatory conditions in various regions.

PANews: Based on your experience, what advice would you give to institutions or teams participating in stablecoin business in Hong Kong?

Rita Liu: I think it is very important to choose the right application scenario and do it thoroughly. If a company's product can be loved by 100 people in a certain field versus being considered usable by 10,000 people, I believe it is more important to focus on providing an exceptional user experience for a vertical service target. This has always been an important topic in Web 3. In short, my advice is to choose the right scenario and continue to delve deeply into it.

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