Gusto, the payroll platform serving over 300,000 businesses, has partnered with crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash to launch instant cross-border payments using stablecoins. The integration, currently in beta, allows international contractors to bypass the banking system’s multi-day settlement delays, receiving funds in minutes rather than the industry standard of 3-7 days.
The Infrastructure Play
Under the hood, this partnership leverages Zero Hash’s regulatory stack to handle the conversion and transmission of funds. Employers using Gusto continue to pay in fiat USD; Zero Hash’s API infrastructure then converts these funds into USD-denominated stablecoins for the contractor. This abstraction layer removes the need for HR departments to manage digital wallets or touch crypto directly, solving a major compliance friction point for traditional enterprises.
The move addresses a tangible inefficiency: cross-border wire transfers are slow, opaque, and laden with fees. Stablecoin rails flatten this to a database entry.
Data-Driven Expansion
The rollout follows internal data signaling a structural shift in the workforce. According to Gusto’s research, the share of clients employing international contractors grew 11% year-over-year in 2025. With remote work normalizing globally, the demand for settlement parity, where a developer in Manila gets paid as fast as one in San Francisco, has moved from a perk to an operational requirement.
Institutional Context
This integration marks another instance of stablecoins functioning as backend banking rails rather than speculative assets. Zero Hash has aggressively expanded its stablecoin support recently, integrating PayPal USD (PYUSD) and obtaining a Trust Charter in North Carolina to solidify its standing as a regulated counterparty. For Gusto, utilizing a regulated partner like Zero Hash minimizes the reputational risk often associated with crypto-native payouts, positioning the feature as a fintech efficiency upgrade rather than a crypto experiment.
