Modern finance needs a new kind of foundation

Financial institutions face mounting pressure to deliver faster, more transparent, and cost-effective services while navigating an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

From real-time cross-border payments to trade finance solutions, legacy infrastructure wasn't built for the transparency, speed, or interoperability that modern finance requires. Cardano is purpose-built for the demands of modern finance, offering full transaction verifiability, stable and predictable costs, and programmable assets that give institutions new tools to innovate on a network already trusted by a growing number of partners.

Challenge

The cost of outdated financial infrastructure is measurable

Cross-border payment solutions remain slow, expensive, and fragmented, while compliance overhead continues to climb. For banks and fintechs evaluating trade finance solutions and real-world asset tokenization, the pressure to modernize is no longer optional.

6.35%

average cost

of cross-border payments globally

19%

average share

of annual revenue spent on compliance

Built for the demands of modern finance

Cardano is already being used to reduce merchant fees by 70%, simplify audits, and bring regulated payments to 137 Swiss supermarkets.

Predictable, low-cost transactions

Cardano's deterministic fee structure lets users know operational costs before a transaction is submitted. Transactions reach deterministic finality within seconds, and costs remain stable as volume grows.

Compliance-ready infrastructure

Cardano's protocol-level standards, including a programmable framework, allow institutions to embed compliance logic, including KYC and AML requirements, directly into the asset layer rather than relying only on fragmented external controls.

Institutional-grade tokenization

Bonds, funds, receivables, and other real-world assets can be tokenized on Cardano's programmable ledger with full lifecycle management, where issuance, transfer, settlement, and reporting all operate within a single auditable environment.

Flexible system integration

Cardano connects to traditional financial infrastructure through a growing layer of custody providers, transfer agents, and cross-chain bridges, allowing organizations to extend existing operations without replacing core systems.

Working with the Cardano Foundation is a logical step in our strategy to bring blockchain-based financial solutions out of the niche and into everyday use. With Open CryptoPay, we demonstrate that Cardano is not only technologically advanced, but also delivers real value in daily payments – for both consumers and merchants.

Cyrill Thommen, CEO of DFX.swiss

urble is designed for long-term financial commitments such as retirement savings, where guarantees must hold over decades. Cardano’s deterministic smart contract model and formal development approach allow us to build verifiable, non-custodial systems with the level of assurance required for financial infrastructure.

Imants Firsts, Co-Founder & CISO of Brick Towers

The Foundation's decentralized application gave us direct access to Reeve's financial data on Cardano alongside verified legal entity identifiers. Having both the transaction record and the identity layer in one place gave us the foundation to apply standard audit procedures with confidence. This pilot shows that blockchain-based financial reporting can effectively align with formal audit requirements.

Pascal Furger, Partner of Grant Thornton Switzerland/Liechtenstein

Financial use cases on Cardano

urble

Helping individuals plan and manage financial goals using the Cardano blockchain.

: Authenticity

Brick Towers

Bringing Cardano into daily financial life with real-time retail payments and savings powered by regulated financial infrastructure

: Authenticity

Reeve

Securing trust in financial reporting by delivering verifiable and immutable on-chain records for independent verification and auditability.

: Traceability

Grant Thornton

Combining verifiable identity and blockchain to validate on-chain financial data.

: Authenticity

Blockchain solutions for financial services

Modern finance needs a new kind of foundation

The cost of outdated financial infrastructure is measurable