Zebec, a company focused on providing streaming payroll services, has expanded its operations to the Stellar network, marking its first significant move outside the Solana ecosystem.
How Zebec's Streaming Payroll Works
Traditional payroll models typically follow a fixed cycle. Employers batch process payments, banks handle the subsequent processes, and employees must patiently wait. Depending on the country and payment service provider, this waiting period can range from two days to two weeks. Zebec's innovative model reportedly breaks this cyclical limitation entirely.
The system no longer locks employees' earnings to a predetermined payment date but allows funds to be released in real-time and continuously based on work completion. For example, if an employee clocks in on Tuesday afternoon, they can instantly receive a proportionate salary for their hours worked, with the funds deposited directly into their digital wallet in the form of USDC.
The specific process on the Stellar network will occur in three steps.
This expansion is not a one-step process; Zebec will first deploy core payroll functionalities and then gradually expand to a comprehensive global payment infrastructure, including fiat deposit and withdrawal channels, as well as connections to remittance networks.
Why Stellar is Suitable for This Application
The Stellar network was designed with cross-border payments as a core feature, a focus reflected in the actual capabilities its infrastructure can provide.
According to Zebec, the Stellar network can handle hundreds of thousands of transactions daily, with USDC transactions alone exceeding 250,000, and the trading volume of stablecoins reaching tens of millions of dollars. Each transaction costs only a small fraction of a cent, which is crucial for continuous payment streams, unlike traditional monthly batch payments. A system that disburses micro-payments every few seconds cannot afford high fees that erode the principal.
Transaction settlement speed is also a key factor. The Stellar network can complete transaction settlements in seconds, eliminating delays caused by time uncertainty in traditional payroll systems.
Moreover, compliance is another important reason Zebec chose Stellar. The Stellar network adheres to the ISO 20022 standard, which is the international financial messaging standard widely adopted by major banks and payment networks globally. This compatibility allows Zebec's infrastructure to connect directly with regulated financial institutions without needing to build a compliance layer for each market individually.
Zebec's partnership with Stellar is longstanding and did not begin with this announcement. Zebec has supported Stellar's card infrastructure for over two years, making this collaboration more of a deepening of an existing relationship and further technical integration.
The Role of MoneyGram
For workers in cash-dependent economies, digital payroll only addresses part of the issue. While receiving USDC is beneficial, the key lies in how to convert it into fiat currency. For hundreds of millions of unbanked workers globally, this conversion step is often where most payment systems fail.
The existing connection between the Stellar network and MoneyGram changes this situation. Employees receiving USDC payments through Zebec on the Stellar network can convert their USDC balances into local cash at over 450,000 MoneyGram agent locations across more than 170 countries worldwide. For instance, a logistics worker in Manila who receives their salary at 9 AM can have their family in a remote area (lacking banking infrastructure) pick up the equivalent in pesos on the same morning.