The financial landscape in Chile is poised for a significant transformation, as a compelling proposal emerges to introduce a national stablecoin aimed at revolutionizing wholesale payments. Joel Vainstein, CEO of Orionx, advocates for this digital currency to streamline high-value transactions, both domestically and internationally, operating around the clock and offering a modern solution to long-standing inefficiencies in business-to-business (B2B) financial flows.
Addressing the Wholesale Payment Bottleneck
While person-to-person (P2P) payments in Chile are lauded for their speed and accessibility, the corporate sector grapples with a starkly different reality. Businesses face slow, costly, and time-restricted systems for interbank transfers and international supplier payments. Vainstein argues that a Chilean stablecoin, underpinned by the new national Fintech Law and inspired by recent stablecoin regulations in the United States, presents a unique opportunity to build a robust 24/7 wholesale infrastructure. This move promises to enhance the uniqueness, integrity, and trust of money movements on a grand scale, directly addressing a critical gap in the nation's financial digital framework.
A Three-Pillar Strategy for Implementation
To bring this vision to fruition, Vainstein outlines three concrete steps for developing a national stablecoin. First, it requires establishing transparent backing, ideally through a portfolio of sovereign bonds and tokenized deposits guaranteed by the Central Bank. Second, ensuring technical and legal interoperability is crucial, incorporating robust Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards, alongside secure settlement mechanisms like Delivery versus Payment (DvP) and Payment versus Payment (PvP). Finally, the proposal emphasizes the importance of launching public-private pilot programs. These collaborations with banks and businesses would facilitate real-world B2B payments, encompassing everything from supplier transactions to import and collection operations, ultimately positioning Chile as a regional leader in digital financial infrastructure.
