Orbital

Orbital is a London-headquartered payment orchestration platform that lets enterprises send, receive, and settle funds across both stablecoin rails and the traditional financial system from a single interface. Founded in 2017 by payments industry veterans, the company processes more than $12 billion annually across over one million transactions and holds regulatory licenses in four jurisdictions: the UK, Gibraltar, Estonia, and Switzerland.

Core Mechanism

Orbital operates as a payment orchestration layer connecting stablecoin blockchains and traditional banking infrastructure. Clients access the platform through three channels: a web dashboard for manual treasury operations, a REST API for programmatic integration, and an OTC desk for large or custom liquidity needs.

Inbound payments (pay-ins) can arrive as stablecoins, major fiat currencies, or any of 80-plus exotic currencies. An auto-exchange feature can convert incoming stablecoin receipts to fiat automatically, removing the need for clients to hold or manage crypto positions. For outbound payments (payouts), funds held in custodial stablecoin wallets or first-name virtual IBANs (vIBANs) can be disbursed globally in the recipient's preferred currency, settling in minutes rather than days.

The vIBAN feature issues multi-currency virtual IBANs under the client's own name, enabling them to receive traditional bank wires while keeping settlement logic on the Orbital platform. A 2024 partnership with ClearBank Europe added direct SEPA Instant Credit Transfer access, eliminating expensive SWIFT routing for euro-denominated flows and providing 24/7 real-time euro clearing.

Solana Integration

Orbital added native support for USDC on Solana to its payment processing solution in July 2022. The rationale, articulated by co-founder Luke Wingfield Digby at the time of launch, centered on cost and speed: Ethereum gas fees of $25–$50 per transaction made stablecoin payments impractical for e-commerce and cross-border use cases, while Solana's throughput and near-zero fees removed that barrier.

Stablecoins account for roughly 90% of all crypto payments Orbital processes. The Solana integration allows Orbital clients to accept USDC on-chain as a pay-in, with optional auto-conversion to fiat on receipt, or to hold USDC balances in custodial wallets for treasury management and outbound stablecoin payouts.

Key Features

Pay-Ins: Supports USDC, USDT, major fiat currencies, and 80+ exotic currencies. Auto-exchange can convert crypto receipts to fiat at the point of collection.

Payouts: Global disbursement settling in minutes, available 24/7, bypassing correspondent banking delays.

1st Name vIBANs: Named multi-currency virtual IBANs for receiving wire transfers. Funds can be stored, exchanged, or routed onward within the platform.

Stablecoin Wallets: Custodial hot and cold storage for USDC and USDT with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification.

Exchange and OTC: Real-time, index-linked rates for converting between fiat, exotic currencies, and stablecoins. An OTC desk handles larger liquidity requests.

Compliance and Security

Orbital holds four active regulatory licenses: the UK (Authorized Payment Institution, regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority), Estonia (Virtual Currency Service Provider), Gibraltar, and Switzerland. Independent security certifications include AICPA SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 (UKAS-accredited), Cyber Essentials Plus, and Cloud Security Alliance STAR Level Two Third-Party Audit.

Team

Orbital was co-founded in 2017 by Chris Mason (CEO) and Paulius Grigaitis (CPTO). Mason spent 25 years in payments before founding Orbital, with prior roles at Citigroup, AIB Merchant Services, WaveCrest, and Worldline. Grigaitis brings 15 years of fintech engineering experience. The company employs more than 140 people across ten countries.

Solana Ecosystem Fit

Orbital's connection to Solana is purposeful: it uses Solana as a settlement rail for USDC — one of the fastest and cheapest options for moving dollar-pegged value at scale. For the Solana ecosystem, Orbital represents an on-ramp through which enterprise clients can receive and disburse USDC on-chain as part of broader treasury operations that also span traditional banking infrastructure. The platform's scale ($12 billion annualized throughput across all rails) and its licensing footprint (UK FCA authorized) make it a credible enterprise entry point into Solana-based dollar settlement.