Pave Bank: programmable bank of Georgia for digital assets and stablecoin treasury
Partner, Corporate & Commercial
Concept
Pave Bank — programmable bank licensed by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) as a digital bankDecember 13, 2023. After receiving the license, the bank operated in test mode for seven months before commercial launch. Headquarters in Tbilisi, Singapore holding, representative office in London.Co-founder and CEO — Salim Dhanani; founding team assembled from alumni of World Bank, Monzo, HSBC, Carta Worldwide, BigPay and BT Group. Positioned asthe world's first programmable bank for the era of digital assets and AI: fiat and regulated digital assets on one platform, instant settlement network, programmable money flows, treasury with unified fiat and stablecoin balance.
Investment track: in 2023 pre-seed of$5.2Mfor programmable payments; in October 2025 —$39M Series Aled by Accel with participation from Tether Investments, Quona Capital, Wintermute Ventures, Helios Digital Ventures, Yolo Investments, Kazea Fund, GC&H. Critical signal: Tether (issuer of USDT) enters the bank's infrastructure as an investor. The company achieved profitability seven months after launch — a rare result for a newly licensed bank, achieved through automation and AI in engineering, compliance, operations and treasury. Global expansion: offices in UAE, US, Hong Kong and EEA.
What tasks Pave Bank is suited for
Corporate treasury accounting with unified fiat and stablecoin balance.Companies using USDT/USDC as a treasury instrument (instead of or in addition to traditional liquidity management) can maintain a unified accounting circuit: one account shows fiat and stablecoins, conversion — on the bank's platform without withdrawal to external exchange. For crypto-native business this removes significant operational overhead.
Programmable money flows.Pave offers API for conditional payments, smart-contract-type automation, scheduled event-based payments. This is a rare banking product with developer-grade API — typically implemented through third-party payment orchestrators (e.g., Modern Treasury), but here directly in the bank.
Stablecoin operations within banking circuit.Storage of USDT (Tether — co-investor) and USDC with ability to issue and receive payments. Since Tether is an investor, USDT operations are particularly deeply integrated — this includes direct minting/burning for major clients.
Instant settlement network.Cross-border payments between Pave Bank corporate clients — instant, not T+1 and not through SWIFT chain. For group of companies with international divisions — functional internal-treasury capability.
Digital asset custody on bank balance sheet.Unlike FV Bank (IFE Puerto Rico) or EQI (Dominica offshore), Pave operates under national regulator of a country that has applied for EU membership (Georgia). This makes it a promising channel for startups needing digital-asset infrastructure under predictable EU-aligned regulator.
What Pave Bank provides technically
- Corporate accountswith unified fiat and stablecoin balance
- Multi-currency:USD, EUR, GBP plus USDT, USDC and other regulated stablecoins
- Programmable accounts— API for conditional payments, scheduled flows, automation
- Instant settlementsbetween Pave clients
- Stablecoin operations— receipt, issuance, conversion, treasury operations
- Compliance under NBG regulations+ AML/CFT within Georgian banking law
- AI-supported operations— automation of KYC, compliance review and treasury processes
Regulatory context
- National Bank of Georgia (NBG)— central bank, banking regulator. Issued Pave Bank digital banking licence.
- Parent company in Singapore.Provides access to MAS regulatory perimeter for cross-border funding.
- Representative office in London— for working with EU/UK institutional clients.
- Georgia— not EU, but has association agreement with EU and actively harmonizes financial regulation with EU directives.
- Pave Bank files CRS + Georgia — OECD CRS participant.Information on non-resident accounts is transmitted.
Acceptable beneficiary jurisdictions
- Most countries worldwide with confirmed KYC
- Russia and Belarus — by agreement, with residence permit of another country and non-sanctioned counterparties; Georgia has not formally joined US/EU sanctions against Russia, but banking compliance at EU-aspiring country level is stricter than Caribbean offshore
- Sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions (Iran, Syria, DPRK, Cuba) — refusal
Russian clients
Conditions:
- Residence permit in country without sanctions restrictions
- Source of funds documented outside sanctions-sensitive operations
- Counterparties — outside OFAC SDN and EU sanctions lists
- Business model — crypto/fintech/treasury, not general B2B trading with Russia
Who Pave Bank is not suited for
- UHNW client without digital-asset focus— Pave is optimized for programmable/stablecoin treasury, not classical private banking. For wealth management — Swiss/Singapore private banks.
- Regular USD settlements through US correspondent network— Pave works through correspondent banks, USD railing not as direct as FV Bank (Fedwire direct) or Tier-1 US banks.
- Very large institutional client with $500M+— relatively young bank (license December 2023, $39M Series A in October 2025) with growing operational base. For such volume, choose Tier-1.
- Bank reference letter for US/UK/EU operations— Pave — Georgian digital bank, Western banks may accept reference unevenly.
- Counterparties on sanctions lists— unconditional refusal.
- Shell companies without business, gambling, adult, weapons— refusal.
Q/A
What does "programmable bank" mean?
A bank where payment instructions can be described as a program: conditional payments (if X received, then send Y), scheduled flows, automation triggers. Technically this is a banking API with rich set of programmable rules, without need for integration with third-party payment orchestration.
How does Pave Bank differ from FV Bank?
FV Bank — US IFE-licensed in Puerto Rico with direct Fedwire access, focus on BTC/ETH/USDC custody. Pave Bank — Georgian digital bank under NBG, focus on programmable money flows and stablecoin treasury (especially USDT through Tether investment). Different regulatory perimeters; FV closer to US compliance, Pave — to EU-aligned.
How does Pave differ from EQI/Noda/Kingdom Bank (Dominica)?
Those — Caribbean offshore banks under FSU Dominica, minimal deposit protection, limited correspondent network. Pave — national central bank Georgia regulation, full banking licence, profitable operations, $39M institutional funding. More stable base for long-term treasury, not "specific-task instrument".
Do you open Pave Bank for Russians?
Selectively, with residence permit and non-sanctioned counterparties. NBG compliance softer than US OFAC, but stricter than Caribbean offshore.
What stablecoins are supported?
USDT (through direct Tether investment), USDC, possibly other regulated stablecoins.
Can Pave be used as primary banking?
For crypto-native business focused on programmable treasury — yes. For UHNW without digital-asset focus — no, primary account better held at FCA/MAS/FINMA-banked institution.
What about FDIC/CDIC/EU deposit insurance?
Pave operates under NBG regulation and is covered by Georgia Deposit Insurance Agency.From April 1, 2026 coverage limit — 50,000 GEL per depositor(~$18,400), previously was 30,000 GEL (history: 5,000 GEL before 2020, 15,000 GEL in 2020, 30,000 GEL in 2024, 50,000 GEL in 2026). This is still significantly below FDIC ($250K) and EU DGS (€100K). For large deposits consider this factor — Pave is good for operational treasury, not reserve storage.
Where are Pave Bank offices?
HQ in Tbilisi, Georgia. Singapore holding company. Representative office in London. Expansion: UAE, US, Hong Kong, EEA.
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