Arf
Arf is a Swiss-regulated fintech providing short-term, USDC-based working capital and real-time settlement infrastructure exclusively for licensed cross-border payment companies and money service businesses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersZug, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Arf does
Arf is a Swiss-regulated fintech that operates a global liquidity and settlement platform purpose-built for licensed cross-border payments companies, money service businesses (MSBs), and remittance operators. Founded with roots traceable to 2019 and with Arf Financial GmbH established in Zug, Switzerland in 2022, the company is regulated by VQF (a FINMA-recognized self-regulatory organization) and serves only licensed financial institutions. Its core product, Arf Liquidity (including the Arf Credit Line), provides unsecured, short-term (1-7 day), receivable-backed working capital denominated in USDC, eliminating the prefunding requirements that traditionally lock up working capital for cross-border payment operators.
The platform is built on the Stellar blockchain with planned expansion to Solana, using USDC stablecoin for settlement. It is delivered through an API-first architecture that integrates cross-border treasury management, liquidity provisioning, KYC, and FX management into a single integration. Following the April 2024 merger with Huma Finance, Arf co-develops the PayFi Network — a programmable liquidity and compliance layer enabling T-0 settlement and embedded credit — and joined the Circle Payments Network as a service provider in September 2025. Notable enterprise partners include LuLu Financial Holdings (T-0 settlement) and Geoswift (same-day marketplace payouts for Asian e-commerce sellers).
Arf's revenue model combines usage-based interest on short-term credit extended through the Arf Credit Line with transaction-related fees on settlement flows through the platform. Distribution is hybrid: direct enterprise sales with waitlist-based onboarding of licensed institutions, complemented by embedded distribution through Circle Payments Network and the Huma PayFi Network. Geographic footprint spans Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, with the company recognized as one of the Top 25 Private Valuation Leaders in the CV VC Crypto Valley Top 50 Report (11th edition).
Arf firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Arf
- Legal name
- Arf Financial GmbH
- Website
- https://arf.one
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Arf is a Swiss-regulated fintech providing short-term, USDC-based working capital and real-time settlement infrastructure exclusively for licensed cross-border payment companies and money service businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Arf industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-border payment infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) & Revenue-Based Financing (FSAKAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Merchant Cash Advance & Revenue-Based Financing Enablement (FSAGALAH), Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF)
Keywords
Where Arf is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zug
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Arf business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Credit Line Interest / Working Capital Financing: Arf earns interest on the credit extended to MSBs and financial institutions through its Arf Credit Line product. Credit is short-term (1-5 days, up to 7 days), receivable-backed, and charged only on the amount actually used. This is the primary revenue mechanism and core differentiator.
- Settlement and Treasury Management Services: Arf provides settlement services to licensed financial institutions enabling real-time cross-border settlements via stablecoin. Revenue may be derived from transaction processing fees associated with settlement flows through the network, as well as treasury management API services.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Arf product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Arf provides a regulated, API-first liquidity and settlement platform for licensed money service businesses and financial institutions. Its core offering is Arf Liquidity, a short-term, receivable-backed USDC working capital credit line that enables real-time cross-border settlements without prefunding. The platform is built on Stellar blockchain and is enhanced by the PayFi Network (co-developed with Huma Finance) for programmable liquidity, embedded compliance, and on-chain settlement.
Product overview
Arf is a Swiss-regulated global settlement banking platform offering a unified platform-plus-modules architecture for cross-border payments. The core product is Arf Liquidity (including Arf Credit Line), providing short-term, receivable-backed, USDC-denominated working capital for licensed financial institutions. This core is enhanced by the PayFi Network (co-developed with Huma Finance), a blockchain-based payment finance ecosystem enabling programmable liquidity and on-chain settlement. The platform integrates transparency tools for compliant, traceable transactions. Arf operates on Stellar blockchain with plans to expand to Solana, and provides API-based infrastructure for seamless cross-border treasury operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Arf Liquidity The world's first regulated, transparent, and short-term liquidity solution designed to empower cross-border payments. Provides unsecured, short-term (1-5 days repayment), receivable-backed working capital in USDC for licensed financial institutions, enabling real-time cross-border settlements without prefunding.
- Arf Credit Line (Arf Credit) API-based transactional short-term working capital credit line in USDC for money service businesses (MSBs) worldwide. Provides instant access to credit with 2-7 day repayment periods, assigned based on transactional volumes within the Arf Network. Interest is paid only for the credit amount actually used, with automated repayment capabilities.
- PayFi Network A blockchain-based payment finance ecosystem developed in partnership with Huma Finance. Co-developed finance and execution layer powering real cross-border payment flows with programmable liquidity, embedded compliance, and on-chain settlement. The first PayFi network enabling credit services within the Circle Payments Network.
- PayFi Stack Integrated technology stack enabling real-time settlement capabilities for partners. Includes cross-border treasury, financial operations, liquidity management, KYC, and FX management solutions. Integrated by partners like LuLu Financial Holdings for T-0 settlement capabilities.
- Arf Transparency Platform A transparency initiative providing fully visible and traceable on-chain stablecoin transactions. Part of Arf's compliance-first approach ensuring all transactions are transparent and auditable on the blockchain.
Quantifiable outcome
- 800+ money transfer locations enabled for same-day settlement without prefunding within 2 months
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Arf
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Arf technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
Arf partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- CirclecoreArf and Huma plan to join the Circle Payments Network (CPN) as a service provider, becoming a credit solution for eligible CPN participants. This enables on-demand USDC credit access directly through Circle's integration, removing prefunding requirements for network members in certain regions.
- GeoswiftmajorArf, Huma, and Geoswift launched a breakthrough settlement solution delivering same-day payouts to merchants on leading global e-commerce platforms. Built on Huma's PayFi network with PolyFlow, the solution provides Asian sellers with immediate access to funds that previously arrived at least one full business day later.
- LuLu Financial HoldingsmajorStrategic partnership to introduce T-0 settlement for global payments. By integrating Arf's PayFi Stack, LuLuFin can achieve real-time settlement—a significant leap from traditional correspondent banking. The alliance addresses liquidity challenges and enables faster, more secure cross-border payments.
- Huma FinancecoreArf and Huma Finance merged in April 2024 to form the first PayFi network, combining Arf's settlement liquidity with Huma's payment finance infrastructure. The merged entity develops PayFi—a blockchain-based payment finance ecosystem for global payments, integrating programmable liquidity, embedded compliance, and on-chain settlement. The partnership aims to unlock $4 trillion in locked working capital.
- VisamajorStrategic partner as part of Visa's fintech innovation program. Arf's settlement and liquidity infrastructure is featured as part of Visa's fintech partner ecosystem, providing blockchain-powered cross-border payment capabilities to Visa's network.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Arf competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Huma Finance: Huma Finance is Arf's merger partner (April 2024), co-developing the PayFi ecosystem. Prior to merger, Huma operated as the most direct peer—building programmable liquidity and on-chain payment finance infrastructure with overlapping MSB and cross-border payment use cases.
- Conduit: Conduit is a cross-border payments platform built natively on the Stellar blockchain—the same infrastructure Arf relies on. It serves similar licensed MSBs and remittance operators with stablecoin-based settlement, making it one of the most direct infrastructure-level comparables.
- Thunes: Thunes is a B2B cross-border payments network connecting payment providers, mobile wallets, and financial institutions across 130+ countries. It directly competes with Arf in serving licensed financial institutions needing cross-border settlement and prefunding elimination.
- TerraPay: TerraPay operates a global payments infrastructure connecting banks, mobile wallets, and money transfer operators for cross-border real-time payouts. It targets the same licensed MSB and remittance customer base with comparable settlement and liquidity offerings.
Broad incumbents
- Circle: Circle is Arf's largest strategic partner (Circle Ventures invested in seed) and now hosts Arf within Circle Payments Network. As the issuer of USDC and operator of a broader payments network, Circle is both partner and a broader incumbent whose expanding credit and settlement capabilities could overlap with Arf.
- Ripple: Ripple is a cross-border settlement and liquidity provider (RippleNet, RLUSD stablecoin) serving banks and payment providers globally. It competes in the same enterprise cross-border liquidity category as Arf, but with a fiat/token-hybrid model and broader institutional footprint.
- Wise: Wise (formerly TransferWise) is a scaled cross-border payments operator serving consumers and businesses with multi-currency accounts and low-cost FX. It addresses the same end-customer pain points (prefunding, slow settlement) that Arf solves for licensed MSBs, though at the retail/SMB layer.
Regional players
- Bitso: Bitso is a leading Latin American crypto exchange and cross-border payments platform using stablecoins for remittance corridors. It is comparable to Arf on stablecoin-based cross-border settlement and MSB servicing, though concentrated in LATAM rather than Europe/Africa/Asia.
Emerging players
- Modern Treasury: Modern Treasury provides APIs for treasury operations, money movement, and bank integrations for fintechs and enterprises. It overlaps with Arf's treasury management and API-first infrastructure capabilities, though focused on USD/fiat rails rather than stablecoin settlement.
- Trovata: Trovata is a treasury management platform that aggregates bank balances and automates cash management for enterprises. It addresses a portion of Arf's value proposition (always-on treasury visibility) but without the cross-border settlement or credit layer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Arf social profiles
Digital presenceArf compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Arf financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Arf leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Arf funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors14 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Arf M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Arf
What does Arf do?
Arf provides a regulated, API-first liquidity and settlement platform for licensed money service businesses and financial institutions. Its core offering is Arf Liquidity, a short-term, receivable-backed USDC working capital credit line that enables real-time cross-border settlements without prefunding. The platform is built on Stellar blockchain and is enhanced by the PayFi Network (co-developed with Huma Finance) for programmable liquidity, embedded compliance, and on-chain settlement.
Is Arf a public or private company?
Arf is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Arf founded?
Arf was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Arf based?
Arf is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Arf make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Credit Line Interest / Working Capital Financing is the primary driver. The others are settlement and Treasury Management Services.
Who are Arf's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Huma Finance, Conduit, Thunes and TerraPay. Broad incumbents are Circle, Ripple and Wise. Bitso is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Modern Treasury and Trovata.
Does Arf have an API?
Yes. Arf offers an API-based cross-border payment infrastructure. The product provides API-based short-term working capital in USDC for money service businesses (MSBs), enabling instant credit access and automation of repayments. The API integrates cross-border treasury, financial operations, liquidity, KYC, and FX management.
What industry is Arf in?
Arf's product category is Cross-border payment infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAGAD, Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) & Revenue-Based Financing, with a secondary code of FSAGALAH, Merchant Cash Advance & Revenue-Based Financing Enablement. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6153.