ISLAMABAD (GNP): With Pakistan’s IT and services exports recording their strongest monthly earnings to date, fresh research from Payoneer, a global fintech firm that supports cross-border business growth, suggests the overseas marketplaces and platforms that pay Pakistani professionals are increasingly treating stablecoin as a core part of their financial plumbing.
Payoneer released the report, titled Stablecoin Steps Up, at Money20/20 in Las Vegas. It draws on responses from 265 senior payments, treasury and finance executives at US-based marketplaces, platforms and enterprises with yearly revenues of at least $100 million. The findings indicate that stablecoin has moved beyond the trial stage: 69% of respondents already use it in live operations, and 41% do so at significant scale.
Quicker settlement was the most frequently cited proven advantage, named by 50% of respondents. Broader access to markets and currencies (41%) and a better experience for recipients (40%) followed closely.
Companies are also looking past simple payments. One-third already make stablecoin features available to their own customers, half intend to do so within three years, and 82% anticipate it becoming part of their financial infrastructure in that period.
According to the report, adoption frequently starts when a recipient asks to keep a balance in US dollars, a preference likely to be familiar to Pakistan’s roughly three million freelancers. The study also openly acknowledges obstacles, chiefly the “last mile” problem of converting digital dollars into local currency that can actually be spent, along with regulatory demands, reconciliation and integration with existing systems.
These findings come as Pakistan develops its own regulatory framework. The Virtual Assets Act 2026 established the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), which will license and oversee the industry. The regulator calculates that cutting transfer costs by a single percentage point on about $40 billion in yearly remittances could save the country around $400 million annually.
Rowland Berry, Payoneer’s Vice President for Stablecoin, said the research shows marketplaces and enterprises using stablecoin to improve cross-border payments, run treasury functions and create new financial products for customers. He added that as companies move past pilot projects, success will likely hinge on fitting stablecoin into existing systems, satisfying regulators and making sure recipients can reach and use the funds they receive.
Meanwhile, State Bank of Pakistan figures show freelancers brought in a record $197 million in September 2026, pushing first-quarter earnings to roughly $550 million, a 46% rise from a year earlier.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
