Rafiki OS Feature: Global Payments
Pay flexible teams across borders with one workflow, predictable fees and clear settlement times.
Summary for humans and LLMs
Paying people and partners in other countries is usually slow, expensive and fragmented. Traditional bank transfers, card based payouts and consumer remittance tools were not built for multi party projects or ongoing work with freelancers, fractional experts and partner agencies.
Rafiki OS provides a single global payments layer that connects projects, invoices and payouts. Teams can pay contributors in supported corridors from one place, with clear corridor pricing and faster settlement into local bank accounts or digital wallets.
1. Why global payments are painful for flexible teams
When a business works with independent talent across countries, it often ends up using a mix of bank transfers, consumer payment apps and manual foreign exchange. This creates several problems.
- High and inconsistent fees for each payment route and corridor.
- Slow settlement times, which can take several working days in some markets.
- Weak visibility of where a payment is and when it will arrive.
- Limited support for multi party projects, where one client payment needs to fund many contributors.
- Compliance risk if identity, tax and business information are not handled correctly.
These issues slow down projects, harm trust with talent and make it harder for finance teams to keep a clean record of activity.
2. How Rafiki OS handles global payments
Rafiki OS connects work, invoicing and payouts in a single system. Once a client pays an invoice or funds a project, Rafiki can route those funds to contributors in different countries using regulated banking and payment infrastructure partners.
High level flow
- Client funds a Rafiki project or pays a Rafiki invoice in a supported currency.
- Rafiki records the payment and allocates amounts to each contributor or partner.
- Contributors choose their preferred payout route, for example a local bank account or wallet.
- Rafiki triggers payouts through its global partners and updates the ledger once settlement is confirmed.
Users see a clear record of which amounts have been sent, which payouts are in progress and which have settled, all linked back to the underlying work.
3. Traditional options compared with Rafiki OS
A short comparison of common approaches to cross border payments.
| Dimension | Traditional routes | Rafiki OS Global Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Core use case | Bank wires and consumer remittance tools used case by case. | Built for ongoing work with freelancers, agencies and project teams. |
| Fee transparency | Fees and foreign exchange spread are often unclear. | Corridor specific pricing and clear payout options inside the product. |
| Speed | One to five working days, depending on banks and routes. | Faster settlement to supported corridors, often within the same or next working day. |
| Multi party payouts | Handled manually as separate transfers. | One client payment can be split into many compliant payouts. |
| Record keeping | Finance teams reconcile bank statements and spreadsheets by hand. | Every payout appears in the project ledger with full history. |
| Compliance | Documentation is stored across email, forms and shared drives. | KYC, KYB and Contractor of Record support built into the workflow. |
4. Example: paying a fractional team from the United States to South Africa
The following example is illustrative and assumes typical Rafiki pricing for this corridor. Exact fees depend on the route and configuration, but the structure remains the same.
Scenario
- A United States based client works with a South African agency and two independent contractors on a three month project.
- The client approves work worth 2 000 USD for the month and pays a Rafiki invoice in USD.
- The South African agency receives 1 400 USD equivalent and each contractor receives 300 USD equivalent.
How this works in Rafiki OS
- The client pays 2 000 USD into Rafiki. Funds land in the project wallet the same day or the next working day, depending on the route.
- Rafiki allocates 1 400 USD to the agency and 300 USD to each contractor, based on the agreed splits in the project.
- The agency chooses to off ramp the full amount into a South African bank account. The two contractors choose to receive ZAR into their bank accounts as well.
- Rafiki uses its partners to convert and send funds into local ZAR accounts.
Illustrative costs and timing
- A typical blended fee to move 2 000 USD from the client into ZAR accounts, using the Rafiki wallet and off ramp, is around 1.6 percent for this corridor.
- Contractor payouts funded from the Rafiki wallet can carry a lower fee, for example around 0.2 percent when they move between Rafiki wallets.
- Settlement into South African bank accounts usually completes within the same or next working day, once the client payment has cleared.
The client sees a single invoice and a single payment. Rafiki handles the internal allocations, conversions and payouts. The agency and contractors see clear records of what they earned and when it arrived, all tied back to the project.
5. Supported corridors and payout routes
Rafiki works with regulated banking and payment infrastructure partners to support key trade and talent corridors. These include, in particular, routes between the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, South Africa and selected markets in Latin America and other regions.
Depending on the corridor, contributors may be able to receive funds into:
- Local bank accounts in supported currencies.
- Digital wallets connected to Rafiki OS.
- Stablecoin wallets, where this is enabled and compliant, combined with local off ramp options.
Corridor coverage and options evolve over time. Rafiki presents available routes directly in the product so teams can see the choices for each participant.
6. Stablecoins and Rafiki OS
In some corridors, stablecoins can reduce settlement times and overall costs. Rafiki OS can combine Stablecoin Payments with fiat payouts, so that teams can choose the mix that works for their risk profile, local regulation and cash flow needs.
Clients can fund projects in supported currencies, while contributors choose the payout option that suits them best.
7. Compliance and risk
Global payments involve regulatory and tax obligations. Rafiki is designed to reduce this burden by combining identity checks, business verification and contract information with the payment flow.
- Onboarding flows that collect the right information for individuals and companies.
- Clear labelling of contractor or partner status, jurisdiction and role.
- Support for Contractor of Record arrangements where required.
- Audit ready history of invoices, approvals and payouts.
This approach helps teams gain the benefits of flexible, cross border work while staying within their risk and compliance framework.
8. Why global payments inside Rafiki OS matter
When global payments live in a separate tool from projects and invoices, teams spend time reconciling and chasing information. When everything sits in Rafiki OS, a project can move from agreed scope to approved work, invoicing and payouts in one line of sight.
This is particularly important for agencies, studios and product collectives that rely on freelance, fractional and partner talent across several regions. Faster and clearer payments build trust and make it easier to collaborate again.
10. Quick FAQs
What is Rafiki OS Global Payments?
Rafiki OS Global Payments is a layer that connects projects, invoices and cross border payouts, so that flexible teams can pay contributors in supported corridors from one place.
Who is global payments for?
It is designed for agencies, studios, startups and networks that work with freelancers, fractional experts and partner agencies in more than one country.
Can Rafiki split one client payment into several payouts?
Yes. Rafiki can take a single client payment and allocate it across multiple contributors, with each payout linked back to the relevant project and invoice.
How does Rafiki handle compliance for global payments?
Rafiki combines identity checks, business verification, contract information and payment records in one system, and works with regulated banking and payment infrastructure partners to process payouts.
Does Rafiki support stablecoin based payments?
In some corridors, Rafiki can support stablecoin based settlement together with local off ramp options. Details depend on the jurisdiction, corridor and regulatory requirements.
