Payment Service Providers (PSPs) today are faced with infrastructure limitations forcing them to rebuild complex payment stacks from scratch, only to surrender control over how their volumes are processed. The result? A costly, multilayered model that mirrors the dynamics of traditional banking systems, where clearing networks were designed for interbank transactions to primarily serve banks — leaving PSPs as external participants in a cost-center economy.

Just as payment for order flow (PFOF) transformed stock trading from a fee-based model to commission-free, we believe payments are ready for a similar revolution. Paygrid is reimagining payment clearing from first principles — bringing banking-scheme level capabilities into a global decentralized clearing network that gives control back to payment providers.

A Better Way to Clear Payments

At its core, payment clearing is about organizing and optimizing the flow of payment obligations between participants before final settlement. Paygrid’s payment clearing layer is focused on optimizing costs and execution based on structured workflows and dynamic payment patterns to maximize value capture for PSPs.

Not all payments are created equal, so why clear them the same way? A $100 commerce payment might need an instant RTGS settlement, while a $100k B2B payment might need a deferred net settlement mechanism prioritizing cost, reliability or compliance factors. Paygrid enables PSPs to decide how each payment clears, adapting to context, priorities, and business requirements. This flexibility is driven by a private order flow system — treating payments as specialized orders rather than random transactions.

An Open Market Approach to Payments

Paygrid creates a highly structured private order flow, with a two-sided open market where:

• PSPs gain full control over their payment clearing processes, optimizing workflows based on their needs while capturing MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) that their volume generates, but today is lost to external parties due to lack of such control.

• Liquidity providers access an organized payment order flow, allowing better settlements, predictive liquidity positions, and maximized MEV opportunities — a stark improvement over today’s ad hoc nature of DeFi trading.

• PSPs themselves can operate liquidity pools, opening the possibility for inter-PSP clearing and replicating efficiencies long reserved for banks.

This design transforms payment flows into a self-reinforcing system where efficiency increases with scale.

The Virtuous Cycle of Paygrid

Paygrid’s power lies in its compounding network effect:

• More PSPs joining the network equals greater payment flow.

• Greater flow creates better clearing opportunities.

• Better clearing opportunities lead to greater value capture for participants.

This cycle is reminiscent of how Visa and Mastercard redefined card payments but with a fresh approach tailored for a decentralized, chain-agnostic world. Over time, Paygrid drives unparalleled efficiency, enabling PSPs to clear directly with each other and bypass traditional cost barriers.

Beyond Infrastructure: A New Economic Paradigm

Paygrid isn’t just rebuilding infrastructure — it’s redefining the fundamental unit economics of payments. Legacy clearing networks locked PSPs into cost-plus models with limited influence. Paygrid’s design flips the script, leveraging decentralization to extract and redistribute value.

For instance, MEV isn’t inherently bad. Rather than eliminating it, Paygrid introduces mechanisms for negative MEV protection and positive MEV capture, ensuring participants benefit from this payment market design. In essence, Paygrid answers the critical question: Who gets what?

The surge in stablecoin adoption and the growing reliance on blockchain rails by PSPs signals the need for a unified clearing layer. Paygrid delivers just that — a system that makes payments more efficient, valuable, and, eventually, free from operational costs.

Join Us

We’re at the beginning of a transformative shift in global payments. Paygrid is more than infrastructure — it’s a movement to enable freedom:

• Freedom to innovate without rebuilding foundational systems.

• Freedom to pay without artificial barriers.

• Freedom to participate in a global economy regardless of geography.

If this resonates with you, we’d love to collaborate. We’re seeking early partners who want to help shape this future with us.

Early partners will benefit from:

• Direct influence on product development

• Early access to groundbreaking capabilities

• Dedicated integration support

• Priority for custom requirements

Reach Out

Ready to join the next evolution in payments? Visit paygrid.network or reach out directly at founders@paygrid.co.