“Can a multi-jurisdiction licensed payments network become the default settlement layer connecting fiat banking and stablecoin rails across Asia-Pacific?”
Lightnet was founded in 2018 as a Stellar-blockchain-based cross-border remittance network targeting the underbanked across Asia-Pacific, in close partnership with Velo Labs. Over time it has broadened its product footprint to position itself as regulated payments infrastructure for institutions — covering fiat and digital-asset settlement, on/off-ramps, merchant payouts, and corporate FX/treasury — across a multi-jurisdiction license stack (Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia). The strategic bet is bridging Web2 compliance with Web3 stablecoin rails for institutional clients rather than a consumer remittance app.
Lightnet discloses Lightnet (self-operated, licensed across SG/HK/TH/PH/ID) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Lightnet does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Lightnet (self-operated, licensed across SG/HK/TH/PH/ID).
Lightnet processes payments through Lightnet cross-border settlement (self-operated) and Lightnet merchant payments network (self-operated).
Lightnet uses Lightnet FX & Treasury (self-operated) for FX and cross-border payouts.
Lightnet's crypto products run on Velo Labs (Stellar-based settlement partner).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 4 layers in Lightnet's stack: Payments / PSP (Lightnet cross-border settlement (self-operated) and Lightnet merchant payments network (self-operated)); Banking / BaaS (Lightnet (self-operated, licensed across SG/HK/TH/PH/ID)); FX & payouts (Lightnet FX & Treasury (self-operated)); Crypto (Velo Labs (Stellar-based settlement partner)).
Lightnet was founded by Chatchaval Jiaravanon and Tridbodi Arunanondchai and is founded in 2018, headquartered in Singapore.
Lightnet has raised ~$86M+ disclosed in total (latest round: Later Stage VC, $5M).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Lightnet and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.