Platform · architecture · developers

How Settla works,
end to end.

The full technical story — the problem, the resolve → route → execute architecture, best-execution routing, the developer API, security, and the partner ecosystem.

← Back to homeLaunch app →
The problem

Sending money across borders is still guesswork.

Every corridor is a different integration, every recipient a different string to paste, and the real cost — the FX spread — is hidden behind a "$0 fee" badge.

10-digit

Addresses no human remembers

NUBANs, 0x-wallets, IBANs. One wrong digit and the money's gone — or worse, delivered to a stranger.

6%

Spread hidden behind "free"

In a cross-currency payment the FX spread dwarfs the fee. "Zero fee" often lands the recipient less, not more.

N

One PSP per corridor

Reach a new market and you rebuild the whole integration. The map of rails is fragmented and always changing.

How Settla works

Resolve → Route → Execute. Never custody.

One integration turns a name into a settled payment. Settla is the resolution and routing layer — a DNS and routing table for money — and it never touches the funds.

→01 · Resolve
◎

Resolve the name

Turn @amina, a phone, or an email into an identity — disclosing only what she allows and only what you're permitted to see. A name-enquiry trust anchor confirms the account before a cent moves.

→02 · Route
⟐

Route by landed value

The engine scores every rail on fee, speed, reliability and FX spread, then recommends the one that delivers the most in the recipient's currency. Best-execution routing for money.

→03 · Execute
⇄

Hand off to move it

Your wallet signs crypto; a licensed partner executes fiat, FX or the bill under the user's authorization. Settla records the instruction and settlement — it never holds the money.

Interactive architecture

Three planes. One neutral layer between every walled garden.

Settla sits between identity and money movement — resolving who, choosing how, and instructing whom. Explore each plane.

Identity resolution

Who is @amina — and how may I pay her?

The resolver maps any identifier to an identity's disclosed endpoints, applying per-consumer privacy and consent. Addresses are field-encrypted; only what's permitted is ever returned.

  • Any identifier — @handle, phone, email, merchant handle, cashtag.
  • Minimal disclosure — consent-gated, per-API-consumer, anti-enumeration.
  • Field-level encryption — AES-256-GCM; crypto addresses decrypted only after the disclosure filter admits them.
Payment routing

Which rail lands the most value?

The route-engine ranks every viable rail by landed amount — folding in FX spread, fees, speed and reliability — and triangulates cross-currency corridors through USD.

  • Ranked by landed value, not source-side fee.
  • FX-aware — mid rate, ramp spread and effective rate, up front.
  • Any corridor — NGN → KES, USDC → EUR, triangulated via USD.
Partner execution

A licensed mover carries every leg.

The mover registry picks a licensed partner by rail and jurisdiction. Settla assembles the instruction and reconciles the settlement — the partner moves the funds under the user's authorization.

  • Mover registry — matched on rail + region; a new corridor is a row, not a rewrite.
  • Observed-vs-instructed reconciliation into a revenue ledger.
  • The One Rule — Settla records; the licensed partner moves.
Best-execution routing

The rate is the product.

In a cross-currency payment, the FX spread dwarfs the network fee. Most apps quote the fee and hide the spread. Settla ranks by the landed amount — so the recipient gets the most, every time. Settla only quotes; a licensed ramp executes the conversion.

  • Ranks by landed value, not source-side fee
  • Shows mid rate, ramp spread and effective rate up front
  • Triangulates any corridor (NGN → KES, USDC → EUR) via USD
  • USD-pegged stablecoins treated as USD upstream
Send 100 USDC → NGN
Route A — "free" transfer
$0.00 fee · 6.0% spread
₦150,400
Route B — Settla pick
$0.30 fee · 2.5% spread
₦156,000
Same 100 USDC. Settla's pick lands ₦5,600 more — because it ranks by what arrives, not the sticker fee.
Developer experience

One API. Every rail, every name.

Stop hardwiring PSP after PSP. Resolve who · where · which rail · what rate with one integration — and reach crypto, banks, mobile money and billers across corridors.

cURLNodePythonGoWebhooks
resolve.sh RequestResponse
# resolve a name to how they get paid
curl https://api.settla.xyz/v1/resolve \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{ "alias": "@amina" }'
{
  "identity": "idn_8f2c…",
  "type": "user",
  "endpoints": [{
    "type": "bank_account",
    "last4": "1234",
    "capabilities": [{ "asset":"NGN", "rail":"nip" }]
  }],
  "disclosure": { "disclosed": 1 }
}
# rank rails by landed value
curl https://api.settla.xyz/v1/recommend-route \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{ "to":"@amina", "source_asset":"USDC", "amount":"100" }'
{
  "best": {
    "rail": "nip", "mover": "yellowcard",
    "fx": { "effective_rate": 1560, "spread_bps": 250 },
    "landed_amount": "156000", "currency": "NGN"
  },
  "ranked_by": "landed_value"
}
# assemble an instruction — a licensed mover executes it
curl https://api.settla.xyz/v1/transfer-intents \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -d '{ "to":"@amina", "asset":"NGN", "source_asset":"USDC", "amount":"100" }'
{
  "id": "tin_Qslrt…", "status": "instructed",
  "mover": { "code":"yellowcard", "kind":"ramp" },
  "fx": { "to":"NGN", "landed_amount":"156000" },
  "disclaimer": "Settla recorded this instruction; it moves no funds."
}
# search the public directory of @handles
curl "https://api.settla.xyz/v1/directory?q=ami" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..."
{
  "results": [
    { "alias":"@amina", "type":"user", "verified": true },
    { "alias":"@amina_ke", "type":"user", "verified": true }
  ]
}
Enterprise security

Non-custodial by construction — not by policy.

Settla can't lose what it never holds. The architecture keeps you out of the money-transmitter perimeter and keeps user funds under the user's keys.

🔐

The One Rule, enforced

Settla stores identities + endpoints, resolves them, and recommends routes. It never moves, holds, converts or settles funds — verified in code and surfaced in every UI.

🗝️

Field-level encryption

Endpoint addresses are AES-256-GCM encrypted at rest. Crypto addresses are decrypted only after the per-consumer disclosure filter admits them.

👁️

Consent & minimal disclosure

Every resolve is scoped to what the identity permits and what the consumer is granted — with anti-enumeration and negative-cache protection.

🏛️

Licensed partners carry the license

Every leg that touches funds hands off to a regulated specialist. Settla stays infrastructure; partners remain the licensed movers.

📒

Reconciled settlement ledger

Observed-vs-instructed reconciliation (accrued → reported → verified → settled) means revenue is proven against execution, not self-reported.

🔑

Secrets server-side only

Partner keys live in server env, never in the client bundle. Wallet keys never leave the user's device — crypto is signed locally.

Partner ecosystem

Register your rails. Get routed demand.

Movers are matched by rail and jurisdiction. Become a mover and Settla sends you the instructions you're best placed to execute — distribution without the cost of acquisition.

Yellow Card
Pan-African USDC ↔ fiat ramp
Adapter live
Bridge (Stripe)
US / EU settlement · ACH · SEPA
KYB review
Fincra
African payouts + EUR / GBP
Connected
Flutterwave
Name-enquiry · Nigeria
Live
Kotani Pay
USDC ↔ mobile money
Routed
Onafriq
Pan-African mobile money
Routed
Reloadly
Airtime · data · bills
Sandbox
Become a mover
Register a rail →
Open
Voices

Built for the people rebuilding African payments.

Structured and ready — drop in quotes from design partners and pilot movers as they go live.

quote
“One integration replaced four PSPs — and our users keep more on every transfer.”
Design partner
Fintech · Lagos
quote
“Registering our rail turned into routed volume the same week. Distribution without CAC.”
Pilot mover
Licensed PSP
quote
“My family in Nairobi gets paid by name. No account numbers, no guessing the rate.”
Early user
Diaspora · remittance
Roadmap

From live rails to a global routing table.

Live now

The routing layer

  • Resolve · route · instruct across Africa / US / EU
  • Non-custodial crypto (mainnet USDC)
  • USSD + SMS + PWA + app
  • Reconciled settlement ledger
Horizon

The network compounds

  • Open mover marketplace
  • Programmable payment links + escrow
  • Compliance + audit certifications
  • Directory network effects at scale

Pay a name. On any rail.
At the best rate.

Crypto from your wallet, naira, cedi and mobile money through licensed partners — resolved to a name, routed by landed value.

Launch the app → Partner with us