Businesses, freelancers, and agency owners operating across Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have long struggled with the persistent friction of cross-border payment processing. Landing a client in Europe or the United States and successfully delivering work is often immediately followed by an arduous settlement process. Regional professionals routinely face flagged Wise accounts, delayed or blocked Payoneer withdrawals, and multi-day SWIFT transfer wait times. By the time international funds finally clear into local bank accounts, four to five percent of the total earned revenue quietly disappears due to intermediary banking fees and inflated currency conversion markups.
This recurring friction has forced regional service providers and small enterprises to accept high transaction costs as an unavoidable expense of doing global business. However, the sheer volume of regional financial flows highlights the urgent need for modernized infrastructure. In 2024, remittance inflows to Pakistan surged by 31 percent to reach 34.6 billion dollars, with Saudi Arabia contributing 7.4 billion dollars and the United Arab Emirates generating an additional 5.5 billion dollars. Furthermore, remittance outflows from the Gulf region reached 131.5 billion dollars, with 77 billion dollars originating from Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone. For recipient nations, these capital flows serve as vital economic stabilizers that frequently surpass foreign direct investment and official development assistance.
Despite these massive transaction volumes, traditional settlement networks remain slow, costly, and restrictive. The global average cost of sending 200 dollars stands at 6.4 percent, more than double the 3 percent target established by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For freelancers and small business owners who lack the dedicated institutional banking relationships enjoyed by multinational corporations, effective transaction costs are often even higher. Individuals in the UAE lose up to 5 percent per cross-border transfer, while small companies across the region navigate fragmented setups involving multiple bank accounts, digital payment services, and separate cryptocurrency wallets to manage incoming stablecoin payments.
To address this structural gap, Riyadh-based fintech startup Sorbet has launched a specialized global payments platform designed specifically for businesses and remote workers operating across the Gulf, Pakistan, and broader international markets. Sorbet recently introduced local payout capabilities in Pakistani Rupee, Saudi Riyal, and UAE Dirham. The platform enables users to receive international payments in US Dollars, UAE Dirhams, Euros, and British Pounds, while facilitating direct disbursements to local bank accounts across all three countries with near-instant settlement and competitive conversion rates close to the mid-market benchmark.
Sorbet leverages stablecoins such as USDC and USDT as an underlying liquidity and settlement layer while delivering a seamless financial technology experience that eliminates the need for users to manage blockchain wallets or navigate crypto exchanges. Stablecoins have processed over 27 trillion dollars in transaction volume over the last three years, exceeding the individual annual processing volumes of major card networks like Visa and Mastercard. By utilizing stablecoin rails behind the scenes, Sorbet allows a business to accept USD from a Western client and receive PKR, SAR, or AED directly into their local bank account, typically within the same business day.
By consolidating multi-currency receiving accounts, holding options, and local currency disbursements into a single unified platform, the fintech eliminates the operational overhead and conversion losses that traditionally burden cross-border commerce. According to Sorbet co-founder and chief executive officer Maher Ayari, using stablecoins behind the scenes enables internet-speed movement of funds while maintaining fully compliant local payout mechanisms in every operating market. This hybrid approach bridges advanced digital asset infrastructure with traditional banking channels, providing regional businesses with lower costs, faster settlement, and seamless access to their earned global revenues.
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