Interledger Foundation breaks ground on 8 projects to bolster money movement around the world

The Interledger Foundation (ILF), an organisation building and advocating for an open, interoperable payments network, has surpassed investment support of 200 projects with the announcement of three new technological projects based in Uganda, Jamaica, and Pakistan.

Among these projects are microloans for community-based financial institutions in Uganda, working with private fintech companies to streamline remittances for a major bank in Pakistan and enabling international payments for online marketplaces in Jamaica.

It is also funding five research projects designed to explore and ultimately define methods that will boost economic engagement and sustainable growth, both in established and emerging economies. This work will examine harmful design practices in digital financial interfaces, uncover why people in established economies still don’t have access to financial services and other issues surrounding global digital finance.

There is currently no global standard for digital payments. This has resulted in a financial system that is fragmented, slow, and inaccessible. Further, as many as one-third of people across the globe can’t participate in local or global commerce through digital payments. Interledger Foundation is working to overcome these roadblocks with a two-fold approach: 1) Building the Internet of Opportunity with Interledger, an open, neutral network for sending money, where payments become as borderless and frictionless as the Internet. And 2) researching and developing new social methods to bring digital payments to new audiences.

“We’ve tasked ourselves and our partners with a substantial challenge: build a new financial system that operates like the internet to transcend traditional barriers and create new opportunities,” said Chris Lawrence, Chief Programme Officer at The Interledger Foundation.

The three new technological projects include:

Kanzu Finance powers microloans for community-based financial institutions in Uganda. Leveraging ILP, Kanzu Finance seeks to foster economic empowerment and entrepreneurship in Uganda. By powering automated credit scoring, integration with digital wallets, and instant loan distribution and repayment, the organisation will spur local economic development and lead to the growth of community-based financial institutions.
Paysys Labs streamlines remittances for a major Pakistani bank. Working with Allied Bank Limited, a Pakistani commercial bank, Paysys will leverage ILP to turn customer accounts into digital wallets, which can then transact funds with other digital wallets on the Interledger Network. This will reduce the high costs and delays that characterise cross-border payments in Pakistan.
BessPay enables international payments for online marketplaces in Jamaica and the Caribbean. BessPay is working to overcome the high fees and coverage gaps with established digital payments providers in emerging markets with Interledger Open Payments. This project will empower small and medium businesses to launch their own marketplace on the Sharetribe Marketplace Platform and engage in cross-border business with low-cost, quick transactions.

Interledger Foundation has additionally increased investments in existing projects, such as with the People’s Clearinghouse to create a remittance pathway between the US and 140 community banks in rural Mexico, and Wallet Guru to develop a pay-as-you-go utility payment solution.

“Each organisation and individual we work with plays an integral role in progressing open payments so that technical and societal roadblocks do not limit financial growth on a local and global scale,” says Lawrence. “With each new project, we further push what’s possible beyond the financial systems we know today.”

From 1 July to 1 August 2025, Interledger Foundation will accept proposals from organisations interested in contributing to its growing interoperable network.