Coins.ph, Tempo Blockchain Want to Cut Overseas Transfer Fee Costs for Filipinos

For Filipinos, especially crypto users receiving money from abroad or transferring funds across borders, moving digital dollars on the blockchain, particularly via non-custodial wallets, has long come with a frustrating chore: to send standard stablecoins like Tether or USD Coin, users usually have to buy and hold a completely separate, volatile token just to pay blockchain “gas” fees.

A new payment network integration aims to eliminate that friction, bringing near-zero transfer costs and sub-second settlement to millions of digital wallet users in the Philippines.

Eliminating the Gas Token Requirement

When transferring crypto-based dollars on general-purpose blockchains, users historically needed tokens like Ether or Tron in their wallet solely to cover network fees. If a user ran out of those specific native tokens, their funds were effectively stuck until they purchased more.

Through a live integration between digital asset platform Coins.ph and Layer 1 payment network Tempo, users can now pay transaction fees directly using the stablecoins they are actually sending.

This feature, known as native gas abstraction, allows Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) transfers to cover their own network fees. Additionally, transactions processed through the network reach finality in roughly 0.5 seconds, avoiding the unpredictable fee spikes common during periods of heavy crypto market congestion.

Purpose-Built Rails for Digital Dollars

Tempo was co-incubated by payments firm Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm specifically to serve as dedicated infrastructure for global stablecoin payments. Unlike general-purpose blockchains where money transfers must compete for processing space against high-frequency trading or NFT minting, Tempo utilizes dedicated payment lanes to isolate financial traffic. (Read More: Stripe Builds Tempo Blockchain | Live Crypto Updates)

The feature went live on August 9 at 2:00 PM PHT, giving Coins.ph users multi-chain deposit and withdrawal capabilities for USDT and USDC via Tempo’s canonical USDT0 and USDC.e tokens.

“As stablecoins rapidly become the default rail for cross-border commerce and remittances, users need infrastructure that delivers instant, reliable, and cost-effective settlement,” said Christine Lim, Global BD Director for Crypto at Coins.ph. She noted that supporting Tempo ensures transferring value across borders feels “as seamless as sending an instant message.”

Josh Itzkovitz from Tempo’s Go-To-Market team added that pairing purpose-built payment rails with established regional platforms helps make cross-border stablecoin transfers “invisible, instant, and frictionless for everyday users.”

Broadening Local and Global Money Movement

The integration reflects a broader push by Coins.ph to upgrade payment efficiency both inside the Philippines and across international corridors.

• Coins.ph recently expanded its local biller network to nearly 300 merchants through a direct Bayad integration, enabling users to settle Meralco, telecommunications, and government bills with 24-hour real-time posting.
• Internationally, the exchange previously partnered with Clear Junction to connect corporate clients to European payment channels, including SEPA, SEPA Instant, and Faster Payments for EUR and GBP transfers.

This article is published on BitPinas: Coins.ph, Tempo Blockchain Want to Cut Overseas Transfer Fee Costs for Filipinos

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