---
title: "About Tempo — A blockchain built for payments"
description: "Tempo is a payments-first Layer 1 blockchain for stablecoin payments at scale, incubated by Stripe and Paradigm."
path: "/about/"
template: "page"
image: "/cards/about.webp"
---

# A blockchain built for payments

Overview

## Purpose-built for stablecoins

Stablecoins enable instant, borderless, programmable transactions, but most blockchain infrastructure isn't designed for them. Tempo is built to move stablecoins across borders, between businesses, and between machines with the speed, cost, and reliability that real-world payments demand.

Tempo is incubated by [Stripe](https://stripe.com) and [Paradigm](https://www.paradigm.xyz), combining deep experience in global payments with leading crypto and blockchain engineering. The result is infrastructure purpose-built for stablecoins rather than retrofitted from a general-purpose chain.

**Network**
Payments-first Layer 1 blockchain

**Focus**

Stablecoin payments: cross-border transfers, global payouts, embedded
finance, and machine-to-machine payments

**Incubated by**
Stripe and Paradigm

**Designed with**

Category-defining fintechs, banks, and commerce platforms serving billions
worldwide

**Settlement**
Near-instant settlement, with no re-orgs

**Fees**
Paid in USD stablecoins, with no volatile gas token

Use cases

## Designed for real-world use cases at scale

### Cross-border payments

Move money between countries and currencies with the speed and finality
of an onchain settlement layer.

### Global payouts

Pay contractors, sellers, and partners anywhere with stablecoins instead
of slow, fragmented banking rails.

### Agentic and machine payments

Give software agents and automated systems a native way to transact
using stablecoins.

### Embedded finance

Build stablecoin balances, transfers, and payouts directly into products
and platforms.

### Institutional settlement

Settle high-value flows between financial institutions with
programmable, always-on infrastructure.

## Designed with global payment leaders

Tempo was shaped with input from category-defining fintechs, banks, and
commerce platforms serving billions worldwide.

![Visa](/content/partners/visa.svg)

![Deutsche Bank](/content/partners/deutsche-bank.svg)

![Klarna](/content/partners/klarna.svg)

![OpenAI](/content/partners/openai.svg)

![Shopify](/content/partners/shopify.svg)

![Nubank](/content/partners/nubank.svg)

![Revolut](/content/partners/revolut.svg)

![Mastercard](/content/partners/mastercard.svg)

![UBS](/content/partners/ubs.svg)

![DoorDash](/content/partners/doordash.svg)

![Anthropic](/content/partners/anthropic.svg)

![Standard Chartered](/content/partners/standard-chartered.svg)

## Explore Tempo

[Solutions ### Stablecoin payment solutions Cross-border payments, global payouts, embedded finance, and agentic payments built on Tempo. Read\u00A0more](/solutions/cross-border-payments/)
[Partners ### Payments infrastructure partners The wallets, on and off ramps, custodians, and infrastructure providers building on Tempo. Read\u00A0more](/partners/)
[Customer stories ### Who builds on Tempo How companies like DoorDash, OnePay, and MoneyGram use Tempo to move money. Read\u00A0more](/customer-stories/)
[Documentation ### Tempo documentation Technical documentation for integrating with Tempo's payment infrastructure. Read\u00A0more](https://docs.tempo.xyz/)
[Blog ### News and updates Product announcements, ecosystem launches, and research from the Tempo team. Read\u00A0more](/blog/)
[FAQ ### Frequently asked questions Clear answers about Tempo, MPP, validators, fees, and the technology behind the network. Read\u00A0more](/faq/)