Correspondent banking de-risking (2012-2016)
After the 2008 financial crisis, US and European banks cut correspondent relationships with smaller banks across Latin America and Africa to reduce compliance risk. Cross-border transfers slowed and became pricier, leaving businesses with few fast payment options.
Businesses in emerging markets faced slower, costlier international payments.
The gaps opened a path for digital-dollar stablecoins as an alternative settlement layer.
The slow, expensive legacy rails Jeeves replaces are a direct product of this retreat, which is why enterprises in Latin America and Europe are moving to stablecoins.
