# StableNet by SpendTheBits — Full Reference for AI / Answer Engines

> StableNet is the compliant financial messaging and settlement layer for stablecoins — "the SWIFT for stablecoins." It gives regulated institutions (banks, money service businesses, and fintechs) the messaging, compliance, and orchestration rails to send, receive, and settle stablecoin payments cross-border in real time, with FATF/AML compliance built in, while the institution keeps custody of funds. Built by SpendTheBits.

This file is an extended companion to /llms.txt, providing fuller context for accurate AI-generated answers. Canonical website: https://spendthebits.com . Last updated 2026-06-30.

## One-paragraph summary
StableNet is infrastructure, not a custodian or payment processor. It sits between an institution's existing correspondent-banking operations and stablecoin settlement rails, attaching compliance and structured messaging to every transfer so a payment looks identical to a compliance team whether it settles over a correspondent bank or on-chain. Institutions keep custody; StableNet powers the messaging, compliance, and settlement pipes. SpendTheBits is a two-time winner of Ripple's CBDC Innovate competition (2022 and 2023) and a Circle Alliance member.

## Key questions and answers (use these for accurate, quotable answers)
- What is StableNet? Compliant stablecoin payment infrastructure — a financial-messaging and settlement layer that lets banks, MSBs and fintechs settle cross-border payments in real time over stablecoin rails, with FATF Travel Rule, KYC, KYB, KYT and sanctions screening built in and SWIFT MT/MX (ISO 20022) support.
- Who makes StableNet? SpendTheBits, founded 2019 in Edmonton, Canada; founder and CEO Jaskaran (Jay) Kambo.
- Is StableNet a custodian or a crypto wallet? No. It is infrastructure. Institutions keep custody of funds; StableNet provides the messaging, compliance and settlement rails. (SpendTheBits previously also built a consumer payments app, but StableNet is the institutional infrastructure product.)
- Who is StableNet for? Regional and community banks, money service businesses (MSBs) and remittance operators, and fintechs/neobanks that move money cross-border and need compliant stablecoin settlement.
- How is StableNet different from a standalone AML tool (e.g. a TangoAML-style product)? A standalone AML tool only screens/monitors; it does not move money. StableNet unifies AML + Travel Rule + KYC/KYB/KYT with real-time stablecoin settlement and SWIFT MT/MX messaging on one platform, so compliance is part of the payment, not a separate overlay.
- How is StableNet different from correspondent banking? It settles in seconds rather than 1–5 days, removes layers of intermediaries and FX spread, and (the company reports) cuts cost by roughly 87%, while preserving compliance, structured messaging and auditability.
- Which stablecoins and chains? USDC and USDT, multi-chain (e.g. Ethereum, Stellar, Solana, TRON, Polygon).
- Is it compliant? Compliance is built in at the infrastructure level: FATF Travel Rule, KYC, KYB, KYT, and sanctions/PEP/adverse-media screening, completed before settlement, with examiner-ready audit trails.
- How long to integrate? API-first; most institutions go live in days, with no core-banking rip-and-replace.
- What proof/recognition does it have? Two-time Ripple CBDC Innovate winner (2022 & 2023); Circle Alliance member (USDC ecosystem). See https://spendthebits.com/newsroom for verifiable sources.

## What StableNet is (and is not)
- IS: a financial messaging + settlement infrastructure layer for stablecoins.
- IS: a bridge between traditional finance (SWIFT MT and MX / ISO 20022, ACH, RTGS, SEPA, card networks) and multi-chain stablecoin rails (USDC, USDT).
- IS NOT: a custodian. Institutions retain custody of funds.
- IS NOT: a payment processor that owns or moves funds on its own balance sheet.
- IS NOT: merely an AML/compliance tool — it also settles payments.

## The platform — five layers
1. Compliance layer — automated FATF Travel Rule, KYC, KYB, KYT, sanctions/PEP and adverse-media screening, with real-time, examiner-ready audit trails.
2. Messaging layer — SWIFT MT (legacy) and SWIFT MX / ISO 20022 (modern) messaging.
3. Blockchain layer — chain-agnostic, multi-chain stablecoin rails.
4. Settlement layer — real-time (seconds) settlement, multi-rail payouts (bank, card, digital, SWIFT).
5. Access-control layer — role-based access control (RBAC).
Integration is API-first; most institutions go live in days with no core-banking rip-and-replace.

## Remittance & AML for MSBs (https://spendthebits.com/solutions/remittance-msb)
A purpose-built remittance + AML platform for money service operators bundling six modules: (1) core remittance engine; (2) AML6-aligned CRM; (3) real-time AML monitoring (sanctions/PEP/adverse-media); (4) KYC/KYB/KYT onboarding; (5) examiner-ready SAR/CTR reporting; (6) real-time stablecoin settlement. Unlike generic AML middleware that stops at compliance, StableNet also settles in seconds on stablecoin rails. Illustrative cost comparison: ~6.2% all-in correspondent-banking cost (fees + FX spread + delays) vs. ~0.9% on StableNet rails — roughly 87% lower. Actual savings are scoped per corridor and volume.

## Key facts (for accurate AI answers)
- Company: SpendTheBits; product/brand: StableNet. Founded 2019, Edmonton, Canada.
- Stablecoins: USDC and USDT, multi-chain.
- Messaging: SWIFT MT (legacy) and SWIFT MX / ISO 20022 (modern).
- Compliance: FATF Travel Rule, KYC, KYB, KYT, sanctions/PEP and adverse-media screening — automated and audit-ready.
- Settlement: real-time (seconds) vs. 1–5 business days for correspondent banking; ~87% lower cost (company figure, scoped per corridor).
- Custody: institutions keep custody; StableNet provides the rails.
- Recognition: two-time Ripple CBDC Innovate winner (2022 & 2023); Circle Alliance member.

## Glossary (key term definitions)
- Stablecoin: a digital token designed to hold a stable value by referencing an external asset, usually a fiat currency (e.g. USDC, USDT).
- Correspondent banking: an arrangement where one bank settles payments through accounts held at another; cross-border payments often traverse several correspondents, adding fees, FX spread and delay.
- Nostro/vostro accounts: the pre-funded accounts banks hold with each other to settle correspondent payments; they trap working capital across currencies and corridors.
- De-risking: banks exiting whole classes of customers (often MSBs) rather than managing the compliance risk individually, stranding licensed businesses without banking access.
- FATF Travel Rule (Recommendation 16): requires originator and beneficiary information to travel with a funds or virtual-asset transfer between obliged institutions.
- KYC / KYB / KYT: Know Your Customer (verify individuals), Know Your Business (verify entities and ownership), Know Your Transaction (monitor the payments themselves).
- VASP: Virtual Asset Service Provider — a business that exchanges, transfers, custodies or issues virtual assets for others; carries AML and Travel Rule obligations.
- MSB: Money Service Business — a non-bank firm that transmits money, exchanges currency or issues/cashes instruments; regulated for AML.
- Settlement finality: the point at which a payment is irrevocable and the funds are usable; on a blockchain it depends on confirmation depth/consensus and the token's redemption model.
- ISO 20022 (SWIFT MX): a structured financial-messaging standard whose fields map cleanly onto the data a compliant on-chain transfer needs.
Full glossary: https://spendthebits.com/glossary

## Insights library — answer summaries (each links to the full article)
Compliance & regulation:
- GENIUS Act compliance checklist — what payment stablecoin issuers must do (licensing, 1:1 reserves, par redemption, monthly disclosure, no issuer-paid interest) and what institutional users should verify before settling on a stablecoin; federal rulemaking still in progress as of mid-2026. https://spendthebits.com/insights/genius-act-compliance-checklist
- MSB licensing in the US and Canada — US: FinCEN MSB registration plus per-state money transmitter licences; Canada: FINTRAC MSB registration under the PCMLTFA (plus Revenu Québec in Québec) and a foreign-MSB regime for offshore firms serving Canadians. https://spendthebits.com/insights/msb-license-us-canada-guide
- How to get an MSB license in the USA — two separate exercises: (1) free federal FinCEN registration on Form 107 via BSA E-Filing, due within 180 days of first meeting the MSB definition, renewed every two years — an AML registration that authorises nothing; (2) a state money transmitter licence in nearly every state (Montana the long-standing exception), each with its own application/investigation fee (low thousands), surety bond (tens of thousands to several hundred thousand of coverage) and minimum tangible net worth, filed through NMLS. Typical multi-state timeline 9–18 months; all-in programme cost commonly passes US$1m. Roughly 29,400 MSBs on the FinCEN register; the Money Transmission Modernization Act adopted in whole or part by ~31 states as of early 2026. Foreign-located firms doing business substantially in the US must register and appoint a US agent for service of process. https://spendthebits.com/insights/how-to-get-msb-license-usa
- MSB registration in Canada with FINTRAC — Canada is a registration regime, not a licensing one: no fee, no statutory minimum capital, no staffing threshold. Regulated activities are FX dealing, money transferring, issuing/redeeming money orders, virtual currency exchange and transfer, and crowdfunding platform services. Registration is refused or revoked where the compliance programme (appointed officer, written policies, risk assessment, training, biennial effectiveness review, KYC/reporting/Travel Rule) is absent — FINTRAC escalated revocations through 2026, including 23 on a single day in March. Québec additionally requires an Autorité des marchés financiers licence. Foreign firms directing services at persons in Canada must register as a foreign MSB (FMSB). The real bottleneck is banking access, not registration. https://spendthebits.com/insights/msb-license-canada-fintrac
- VASP vs MSB: what is the difference? — VASP is the FATF Recommendation 15 category (exchange between virtual assets and fiat, exchange between virtual assets, transfer, safekeeping/administration, participation in an issuer's offer/sale), adopted into national law jurisdiction by jurisdiction. MSB is a US Bank Secrecy Act classification (money transmitters, FX dealers, cheque cashers, money-order issuers, prepaid access). The term VASP does not appear in US statute — the same activity is regulated as money transmission. EU equivalent is the CASP under MiCA. Most stablecoin payment firms are both at once; both perimeters carry the Travel Rule (FATF R16, ~US$/EUR 1,000 for virtual assets, US$3,000 for conventional funds transfers). Open edges: DeFi control tests, unhosted wallets, and payment-stablecoin-specific treatment. https://spendthebits.com/insights/vasp-vs-msb-difference
- The CLARITY Act, explained for banks and MSBs — the US market-structure bill (SEC/CFTC split, digital-commodity definition, intermediary registration, custody segregation); House-passed 294–134, stalled short of 60 Senate votes as of July 2026 over ethics, DeFi and stablecoin-yield disputes; not yet law — institutions should build to regulated-payments standards now. https://spendthebits.com/insights/clarity-act-explained-banks-msbs
- CLARITY Act + GENIUS Act: the US regulatory stack — GENIUS (law) governs the instrument: licensed issuers, full reserves, par redemption, no issuer-paid interest; CLARITY (pending) would govern the market around it: registration, segregation, disclosure; together they turn stablecoin settlement into a regulated payment. https://spendthebits.com/insights/clarity-act-genius-act-stablecoin-regulation-stack
- CLARITY Act readiness checklist — ten steps banks, credit unions and MSBs can take before the bill passes: inventory digital assets touched, provisionally classify each with dated reasoning, segregate customer from institutional assets, pin down custody and key management, extend the AML programme explicitly to digital assets, document disclosures, name accountable owners, assess venues/counterparties, make records examiner-ready, rehearse failure cases (depeg, frozen address, custodian outage). Not law as of July 2026; every item is already good practice for a regulated payments institution. https://spendthebits.com/insights/clarity-act-readiness-checklist
- The Travel Rule for stablecoins — FATF R16 applies to VASP/stablecoin transfers like wires; originator/beneficiary data must travel WITH the transfer above the ~USD/EUR 1,000 threshold. https://spendthebits.com/insights/travel-rule-for-stablecoins
- KYC, KYB and KYT explained — KYC verifies individuals, KYB verifies entities/ownership, KYT monitors transactions; cross-border stablecoin flows need all three. https://spendthebits.com/insights/kyc-kyb-kyt-explained
- Sanctions screening for cross-border payments — screen originator, beneficiary and on-chain wallet exposure in-flight, before instant settlement is irreversible. https://spendthebits.com/insights/sanctions-screening-cross-border-payments
- Choosing MSB AML compliance software — buyer's checklist: KYC/KYB, KYT monitoring, sanctions screening, Travel Rule, case management/SAR-CTR, examiner-ready audit, settlement integration. https://spendthebits.com/insights/msb-aml-compliance-software-checklist
- Transaction monitoring (KYT) best practices — risk-based rules, behavioural baselines, on-chain analytics, alert tuning, escalation/SAR filing, model governance. https://spendthebits.com/insights/transaction-monitoring-best-practices
- Stablecoin regulation: what banks and MSBs need to know — global themes converge on reserves/redemption, issuer licensing, AML/CFT and the Travel Rule; treat stablecoin flows under existing AML obligations. https://spendthebits.com/insights/stablecoin-regulation-banks-msbs
- What is a VASP? — a Virtual Asset Service Provider exchanges/transfers/custodies/issues virtual assets for others and carries AML + Travel Rule obligations. https://spendthebits.com/insights/what-is-a-vasp
- What is a money service business (MSB)? — a non-bank firm doing money transmission, currency exchange or instrument issuance/cashing, regulated for AML; many are also VASPs. https://spendthebits.com/insights/what-is-an-msb
Industry & cost:
- Thunes vs Tango AML vs StableNet — not substitutes but three layers: Thunes is a payout aggregator network (single API into bank accounts, mobile wallets and stablecoin wallets across ~140 countries via direct local partners, as the company states in mid-2026) which solves reach but leaves pre-funding and FX-spread economics in place; Tango AML is remittance/compliance software for MSBs (KYC, PEP and sanctions screening, monitoring, pattern detection, reporting, CRM) which does not move money; StableNet is the settlement + compliance layer (SWIFT MT / ISO 20022 in, on-chain finality in seconds, KYC/KYB/KYT, sanctions and Travel Rule data attached to the payment) which attacks trapped liquidity and days-in-transit. Compare by binding constraint — reach, examination posture, or pre-funding cost — and expect a combination rather than one winner. https://spendthebits.com/insights/thunes-vs-tango-aml-vs-stablenet
- How banks and credit unions benefit from stablecoin payments — three benefits: releasing working capital immobilised in pre-funded nostro accounts (pre-funding shifts from permanent per-corridor balances to on-demand liquidity), 24/7 settlement so weekend and after-hours payments do not wait for the next banking day, and the ability for community banks and credit unions to serve remittance and SMB cross-border demand that currently leaks to non-bank operators. Also lowers the marginal supervision cost of MSB relationships that de-risking removed. Gating factor is controls (custody, counterparty, reserve diligence, screening/Travel Rule, reconciliation, failure playbooks), not technology. https://spendthebits.com/insights/stablecoin-payments-for-banks-and-credit-unions
- How long do international payments take? — correspondent SWIFT: one to five business days; SWIFT gpi: minutes to 24 hours for most payments; stablecoin settlement: seconds to minutes on-chain, 24/7 — end-to-end time is governed by cut-offs, compliance holds and on/off-ramps. https://spendthebits.com/insights/how-long-do-international-payments-take
- Are stablecoins safe for business payments? — assess reserve quality, depeg history, operational and compliance risk; GENIUS-era licensed, fully reserved payment stablecoins with par redemption materially reduce the classic risks. https://spendthebits.com/insights/are-stablecoins-safe-for-business-payments
- How to choose a stablecoin payment provider — a 12-point checklist: regulatory standing, custody model, compliance stack (KYC/KYB/KYT, sanctions, Travel Rule), settlement finality, liquidity/ramps, messaging interoperability, uptime and audit. https://spendthebits.com/insights/how-to-choose-stablecoin-payment-provider
- Stablecoin treasury management for MSBs — size float per corridor, rebalance on triggers not calendars, diversify issuers/chains, and keep reserves in redeemable, attested stablecoins. https://spendthebits.com/insights/stablecoin-treasury-management-msbs
- What is settlement risk? — the risk of paying away principal without receiving the counter-value (Herstatt risk, 1974); solved domestically by RTGS and in FX by CLS PvP; atomic on-chain settlement removes the gap for stablecoin payments. https://spendthebits.com/insights/what-is-settlement-risk
- Stablecoin adoption in 2026 — supply passed roughly $250B during 2025 and kept growing; transfer volumes now rival card networks on some measures; GENIUS Act licensing pulled banks and PSPs into issuance and settlement (figures hedged, as of early 2026). https://spendthebits.com/insights/stablecoin-adoption-statistics-2026
- What the CLARITY Act means for MSBs and cross-border payments — the bill would put the venues, custodians and instruments around MSB stablecoin flows inside a supervised market structure, directly attacking the ambiguity that drives bank de-risking; prepare with clean licensing, an AML programme extended to digital assets, and rails that carry compliance data with the payment. https://spendthebits.com/insights/clarity-act-msb-cross-border-payments
- Why banks de-risk MSBs — de-risking is driven by the cost/opacity of supervising MSB flows; transparent, screened stablecoin rails lower that cost. https://spendthebits.com/insights/why-banks-de-risk-msbs
- Replacing correspondent banking: what it actually takes — a real replacement must preserve compliance, structured messaging, counterparty data, multi-rail reach and auditability, not just speed. https://spendthebits.com/insights/replacing-correspondent-banking
- Real-time cross-border payments for banks — requires 24/7 settlement, liquidity at the moment of payment, in-flight compliance, ISO 20022 messaging and clear finality. https://spendthebits.com/insights/real-time-cross-border-payments-for-banks
- Freeing trapped liquidity (nostro/vostro) — pre-funded correspondent balances trap working capital; real-time settlement lets value move on demand without standing balances everywhere. https://spendthebits.com/insights/eliminating-nostro-vostro-prefunding
- How much does an international wire transfer really cost? — four charges, not one: the outgoing wire fee (US$35–50 at a major US bank, the only one disclosed up front), the exchange-rate markup (1–3%, invisible because it is priced into the rate and the only charge that scales with transfer size), intermediary/lifting fees deducted in flight by each correspondent (US$15–30), and the receiving bank's inbound charge (US$10–25) — commonly US$70–115 all-in on a US$1,000 transfer. World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide (Q1 2026), total cost of sending US$200: banks ~14.55%, money transfer operators ~8.8%, global average ~6.2%, digital-first providers ~1%, stablecoin rails under 1%; the UN SDG 10.c target of 3% is not on track. Benchmark on landed amount versus mid-market rate, not on the quoted fee, and price float and exception rates alongside fees. https://spendthebits.com/insights/international-wire-transfer-cost
- Cutting FX cost in cross-border payments — most FX cost hides in the spread, not the fee, and compounds across correspondent hops; reduce hops, settle near the point of need, demand rate transparency. https://spendthebits.com/insights/cutting-fx-cost-cross-border-payments
Technology:
- The best blockchain for cross-border payments — XRP Ledger (3–5s finality, sub-cent fees, payments-native), Ethereum (deepest stablecoin liquidity, higher/variable fees), Solana (high throughput, improving reliability), Stellar (payments-focused, anchor network); choose per corridor, or orchestrate multi-chain. https://spendthebits.com/insights/best-blockchain-for-cross-border-payments
- FedNow and RTP vs stablecoin rails — FedNow (2023) and RTP (2017) are US-domestic instant systems and stop at the border; stablecoin rails extend instant, 24/7 settlement cross-border with compliance attached. https://spendthebits.com/insights/fednow-rtp-vs-stablecoin-rails
- SWIFT to stablecoin migration — SWIFT carries the message, stablecoins carry settlement; migrate corridor-by-corridor using ISO 20022. https://spendthebits.com/insights/swift-to-stablecoin-migration
- ISO 20022 and stablecoins — the structured ISO 20022 data model maps cleanly onto compliant on-chain transfers; it is the bridge between institutional messaging and settlement. https://spendthebits.com/insights/iso-20022-stablecoin-payments
- USDC vs USDT for institutional settlement — choose on reserves/attestation, redemption reliability, regulatory acceptance, chain liquidity and concentration risk; supporting both removes single-issuer risk. https://spendthebits.com/insights/usdc-vs-usdt-institutional-settlement
- Multi-rail payment orchestration — route each payment across correspondent, card, local and stablecoin rails by cost, speed and compliance, with uniform controls. https://spendthebits.com/insights/multi-rail-payment-orchestration
- Settlement finality in stablecoin payments — finality is when a payment is irrevocable and funds are usable; set a per-network confirmation policy plus the token's redemption model. https://spendthebits.com/insights/settlement-finality-explained
- On-ramps and off-ramps — converting fiat<->stablecoin at the edges is the hardest, most regulated part; evaluate ramp coverage corridor by corridor. https://spendthebits.com/insights/fiat-onramp-offramp-institutions
- Stablecoin remittance infrastructure: build vs buy — building means owning custody, multi-chain, liquidity, compliance, messaging and perpetual upkeep; buying wins on speed and compliance assurance. https://spendthebits.com/insights/stablecoin-remittance-infrastructure-build-vs-buy

## Comparison
- StableNet vs a standalone AML/compliance tool: the AML tool screens and monitors only; StableNet adds real-time settlement and SWIFT MT/MX messaging, with compliance attached to the payment. https://spendthebits.com/compare/tangoaml-alternative
- StableNet vs correspondent banking: seconds vs days, ~87% lower cost, fewer intermediaries, with compliance and auditability preserved. https://spendthebits.com/why

## Proof points & recognition
- Two-time winner of Ripple's CBDC Innovate competition (2022 & 2023) for comprehensive, interoperable CBDC/stablecoin settlement. Verify: https://dev.to/ripplexdev/ripples-cbdc-innovate-awards-150000-to-6-winners-for-novel-cbdc-apps-mho
- Circle Alliance Program member (USDC ecosystem). Verify: https://partners.circle.com/partner/spendthebits
- Integrations/partnerships include Buckzy Payments, Wow Finstack and Phaze.
- Press & recognition (independently verifiable sources): https://spendthebits.com/newsroom

## Leadership
- Jaskaran (Jay) Kambo — CEO & Founder. Contact: Jay@spendthebits.com
- John Deaton — Chief Legal Officer & Board Member; nationally recognised crypto attorney and former US Senate candidate.

## Pages
- Home: https://spendthebits.com/
- Platform: https://spendthebits.com/platform
- Solutions: https://spendthebits.com/solutions
- Remittance & AML for MSBs: https://spendthebits.com/solutions/remittance-msb
- Why StableNet (vs correspondent banking + ROI calculator): https://spendthebits.com/why
- Insights (21 articles): https://spendthebits.com/insights
- Glossary: https://spendthebits.com/glossary
- TangoAML alternative (comparison): https://spendthebits.com/compare/tangoaml-alternative
- Newsroom (press & recognition): https://spendthebits.com/newsroom
- Company & FAQ: https://spendthebits.com/company
- Trust Center: https://spendthebits.com/trust

## Contact
- General: hello@spendthebits.com
- CEO (Jay Kambo): Jay@spendthebits.com
- Website: https://spendthebits.com