The honest reason we chose Stellar
When we started evaluating payment rails for cross-border logistics, we looked at traditional options first: SWIFT, local bank integrations, FX aggregators. The verdict was unanimous — they were all too slow, too expensive, and too opaque.
We then looked at general-purpose blockchains. They were fast in theory but unpredictable in fee cost. A $50 transaction fee during network congestion is unacceptable when you're processing thousands of freight payments a day.
Stellar was different. It was designed from the ground up as an open, low-cost financial infrastructure for moving value globally. Its consensus protocol achieves rapid finality with predictable low transaction costs. It has a thriving anchor ecosystem for fiat on/off ramps. It has Soroban — a production-ready smart contract platform built directly into the network.
That's not a blockchain pitch. That's an engineering decision. Stellar is simply the best tool for this job.
What Stellar delivers, quantified
Lightning Settlement
Stellar's network is designed for rapid consensus. Payments can confirm in operational timeframes that keep dispatch moving.
Near-Zero Fees
Traditional wire costs and timelines are often slower and harder to predict. Stellar is designed for low-cost settlement.
Borderless by Default
Any shipper with a Stellar wallet can pay any carrier worldwide. No correspondent bank required, no FX markup, no surprise deductions on arrival.
Soroban Smart Escrow
Our Soroban smart contracts hold payment until delivery is confirmed on-chain. No disputes, no withheld funds, no trust needed between strangers.
Traditional banking vs Stellar: the comparison
How a StellarFreight payment flows on Stellar
End-to-end from booking to delivery, entirely on-chain.
- 1
Shipper books order; system generates Stellar payment address + Soroban escrow contract
- 2
Shipper sends USDC or XLM — payment confirms on-chain quickly
- 3
Escrow contract locks funds; carrier receives immediate dispatch signal
- 4
Carrier updates tracking milestones; shipment status reflects on-chain events
- 5
On delivery confirmation, Soroban contract releases payment to carrier automatically
Stellar primitives we use
We don't use Stellar as a simple payment address. We use the full breadth of the protocol.
USDC on Stellar
Payments denominated in Circle's USDC for stable value transfer. No volatility risk for either party.
Soroban Smart Contracts
Escrow logic deployed on Stellar's Soroban VM. Funds release only on verified delivery events — no manual intervention.
Stellar Anchor Network
Local fiat on/off ramps via SEP-24 anchors. Shippers can pay with local currency; it converts to USDC before hitting the ledger.
SEP-31 Cross-Border Payments
Compliant institutional remittance protocol for B2B freight payments across jurisdictions.
Opening global trade to the unbanked
Stellar's mission is to connect people to low-cost financial services regardless of where they are. That mission aligns perfectly with what we're trying to do in logistics. Here's what it means in practice:
- Many businesses remain underserved by traditional banking rails — Stellar requires only a wallet address
- Small logistics operators in emerging markets gain access to global shipping lanes
- No correspondent bank required for cross-border settlement
- Local fiat on-ramps via Stellar anchors bring any currency onto the network
- Mobile-first wallets work in regions with limited banking infrastructure
You shouldn't have to trust us. You can verify us.
The Stellar blockchain is our trust infrastructure. Every payment claim we make can be independently verified by anyone, anytime, on the public ledger.
Soroban Smart Escrow
Every payment is held in a Soroban smart contract on the Stellar blockchain. Funds cannot be released until a verified delivery event is recorded. No human can override this — it's code, not policy.
Full On-Chain Transparency
Every transaction — booking confirmation, payment lock, delivery event, fund release — is recorded on the Stellar public ledger. There's no StellarFreight-internal database you have to trust.
Non-Custodial Architecture
We never hold your funds. Payments go directly into the Soroban escrow contract. We don't control private keys and we cannot access locked funds under any circumstances.
Verified-Only Claims
We don't make unverifiable performance claims. Every metric on this website can be independently verified on the Stellar network.
Verify any payment yourself
Every StellarFreight shipment payment has an associated Stellar transaction hash. Paste it into any Stellar block explorer — Stellar Expert or the Horizon API — and see the exact payment state, escrow contract, and delivery event yourself.
Our Stellar roadmap
Live Stellar Payments
USDC and XLM payment acceptance in pilot shipment flows with escrow-ready contract logic.
Shipper Wallet Dashboard
In-app wallet connection, payment history, and on-chain receipt download for every transaction.
Anchor Fiat On-Ramp
Local currency deposit via SEP-24 anchors in selected markets as partner integrations expand.
Multi-Carrier Smart Routing
Soroban contracts automatically split payments across multi-leg shipments and sub-contractors.