Open Standards for Digital Payments

Building neutral, interoperable payment infrastructure that connects stablecoins, banks, and existing financial systems without central control.

A foundation-scale effort to build resilient, sovereign payment infrastructure.

Core Principles

Guiding our work in payment infrastructure

Infrastructure, not products

We build standards and protocols, not consumer applications or services.

Learn about our approach

Neutral before innovative

Our work serves all participants equally, without favoring any specific technology or institution.

Explore our neutrality

Clarity over persuasion

We prioritize clear, accurate communication over marketing or hype.

See our transparency

Longevity over trends

We design for decades, not quarters, ensuring sustainable impact.

View our roadmap

Canonical Architecture

An open, layered payment architecture that standardizes payment intent, signing, and settlement

Applications
Wallets · Merchants · Banks · PSPs
Payment Intent & Signing
Standard payloads · Cryptographic signatures · Offline instruments
Settlement & Rail Adapters
Stablecoins · Bank transfers · Card systems
Existing Financial Infrastructure
Blockchains · Banks · Card Networks

What This Enables

  • Stablecoins as everyday payment instruments
  • Bank-compatible digital payments
  • Offline-capable electronic cheques
  • Interoperable wallets and merchants
  • Neutral, open governance

What This Is NOT

  • A payment processor
  • A wallet
  • A bank
  • A token or asset
  • A shortcut around regulation
  • A shortcut around regulation

Our Vision

Building the future of open payment infrastructure

Why a Payments Foundation

Payments underpin the global economy, yet the infrastructure remains fragmented, closed, and institutionally gated. Innovation happens in silos, standards are proprietary, and adoption is driven by incumbents rather than users.

Read our full vision

Stablecoins as Internet Money

Stablecoins are programmable, global, and stable by design. Without open standards, they risk becoming fragmented and centralized.

Explore stablecoin vision

Interoperability with Banking

Banks will remain core to the global economy. Payments must flow seamlessly between blockchains and banking rails.

Learn about banking integration

Offline and Signed Payments

True global payments must work with limited connectivity. We explore cryptographically signed payment instruments.

Discover offline solutions

Foundation Projects

Open-source projects advancing payment infrastructure

Stablecoin Infrastructure

Settlement abstraction, wallet interoperability, payment orchestration.

In Development
View Project Details

Banking and Fiat Rails

Signed bank transfers and electronic offline cheques.

Pilot Phase
Learn More

Standards and Protocols

Message formats, cryptographic signatures, interoperability layers.

Specification
Read Specifications

Tooling and Reference

SDKs, developer tools, test environments.

Active
Explore Tools

Community

Open, merit-based collaboration

How We Work

We operate through open, merit-based collaboration. All decisions are made transparently, and contributions are evaluated on technical merit rather than institutional affiliation.

Communication Channels

Our work happens through public forums and working groups. Join us to participate in the development of open payment standards.

Code of Conduct

We maintain a professional, inclusive, and respectful environment for all contributors and participants.

Open
Development Process
Merit-based
Contributions
Global
Collaboration

Get Involved

Join us in building open payment infrastructure

Builders

Contribute code to our open-source projects and help implement payment standards.

  • Protocol implementations
  • Reference applications
  • Developer tooling
  • Security auditing
Start Contributing

Researchers

Design protocols and contribute to the technical specifications of payment systems.

  • Cryptographic protocols
  • Security analysis
  • Technical specifications
  • Academic research
Join Research

Volunteers

Support operations, documentation, and community building efforts.

  • Documentation
  • Translation
  • Community management
  • Event organization
Join Community

Members and Donors

Shape and fund the development of critical payment infrastructure.

  • Governance participation
  • Strategic guidance
  • Financial support
  • Industry connections
Partner With Us

Transparency

Open governance and accountability

Governance

Open decision-making processes with documented proposals and voting records.

View Governance

Legal Structure

Registered non-profit foundation with clear governance documents.

Learn More

Financial Transparency

Public disclosures of funding, expenditures, and financial reports.

View Reports

Roadmaps

Published milestones and progress tracking for all foundation projects.

See Roadmap