Interledger Foundation Opens $5M Funding for Open Payments Projects

The Interledger Foundation has opened funding for fintech and web-based platform projects that will become part of its interoperable payments network via the Interledger Protocol (ILP)--to build out its vision for an open digital economy. With projects in 40 countries, the organization is already working with businesses to spearhead initiatives that reimagine existing financial infrastructure and introduce new money movement use cases. This year, the organization has earmarked $5M for selected projects to expand on this work. Organizations can apply to participate in this initiative at the Interledger Foundation website.

While an increasingly digitized global economy has resulted in a consumer cross-border e-commerce market that is alone estimated to be worth $2.49 trillion in 2025, there are still formidable barriers standing in the way of free-flowing domestic and cross-border transactions. Financial systems across the world are characterized by varying degrees of legacy infrastructure, resulting in siloes, closed networks, and other roadblocks to the ongoing innovation that economies need to grow. For both business and consumers, this means limitations on how they can make, spend and transfer their money.

Interledger Foundation has set out to change this with millions invested into building an open digital financial ecosystem. This work revolves around breaking down–or working around–barriers that stand between connecting people, devices and ultimately, money movement. The organization has already invested in and launched initiatives with People’s Clearinghouse in Mexico, Chimoney in Canada and Wallet Guru across the United States and Latin America. It’s now seeking its next round of projects that leverage open payments to boost money movement and economic growth, including new approaches to cross-border remittances, peer-to-peer payments and pay-as-you-go services. Viable projects will focus on lifting international and domestic barriers to:

• How money flows in and out of countries. Cross border payments are still largely costly and slow since there is no global payments infrastructure standard. As a result, the market is currently dominated by private companies and financial institutions with siloed payments infrastructure. This not only limits money movement, but also puts transactions at a premium. For businesses, delayed and/or costly payments can equate to missed revenue and opportunities, as well as cut into margins. For consumers, sending and receiving cross border payments between family and peers in other countries comes with inflated fees and delays. Removing infrastructural barriers to cross border payments would introduce innovation that eliminates these challenges and creates individual and economic growth. Interledger Foundation is looking to work with companies that are building solutions that either bypass or break down barriers to payments.

• Sending money within the same country. Domestic transactions in most markets around the world are still limited by siloed payments networks that result from incompatible systems that don’t naturally interface with each other. This creates barriers to entry for businesses and fintech providers who could introduce innovation and opportunity, but must either establish partnerships with multiple payments networks or rely on third parties in order to do so. Without free money movement, business and peer-to-peer consumer payments are limited–and so is economic growth. Interledger Foundation is interested in working with companies that are building interoperable payments use cases and digital wallets to streamline domestic transactions.

“The projects we are championing across the globe are those that fundamentally change how money moves through economies – by sending payments as easy as sending an email,” said Chris Lawrence, Chief Program Officer at The Interledger Foundation. “The projects we’re investing in not only prove the impact that open payments have on communities and sustainable economic development but also expand our global user network. Each year we are blown away by the innovation that startups and established companies propose in their submissions, and we look forward to the impact we’ll be able to create with this year’s projects.”

Interledger Foundation is currently accepting proposals from financial services and fintech providers, as well as web-based platforms. On the road to reaching millions of users across the globe, these projects will expand Interledger Foundation’s open payments ecosystem with new use cases that promote frictionless money movement. If selected, each organization could receive up to $250,000 in funding to help with the technical integration of implementing open payments infrastructure. The first window for applications is now open through April 4th and the second window will open from July 1 - August 1, 2025.