# Pave Bank: programmable bank of Georgia for digital assets and stablecoin treasury > Pave Bank is a digital bank licensed by the National Bank of Georgia for programmable banking, digital assets, stablecoin treasury, and corporate onboarding. Author: Гордей Болотько — партнёр, Corporate & Commercial (https://wiki.private.law/authors/bolotko) Last modified: 2026-06-04T06:14:00.000Z Canonical: https://wiki.private.law/en/pave-bank-georgia-digital-assets Topics: banking Jurisdictions: georgia Functional tags: crypto-friendly, corporate-banking, stablecoin Semantic tags: crypto-friendly, corporate-banking, stablecoin Article type: child --- 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. > 💡 Pave Bank is fundamentally different from Caribbean offshore banks (EQI, Noda, Kingdom) and from Puerto Rico IFE license (FV Bank): this is adigital bank under national regulator(NBG — central bank of Georgia), with full banking licence, not offshore regime. By compliance stringency — closer to EU/UK digital banks (Revolut, Tide), but with explicit digital-asset infrastructure, which they lack. ## 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 - sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions — by agreement, with residence permit of another country and non-sanctioned counterparties; Georgia has not formally joined the relevant US/EU sanctions regime, but banking compliance at EU-aspiring country level is stricter than Caribbean offshore - Sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions (Iran, Syria, DPRK, Cuba) — refusal ## sanctions-sensitive clients > 💡 Pave Bank considers sanctions-sensitive clients selectively. Georgia is not under direct sanctions restrictions on working with sanctions-sensitive jurisdictions, but the bank operates under NBG regulation with EU-aligned compliance standards. After account opening, periodic compliance waves and enhanced due diligence on specific transactions are possible. 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. --- ## FAQ ### 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. --- ## Factual claims - Pave Bank — programmable bank licensed by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) as a digital bankDecember 13, 2023. - Instant settlement network.Cross-border payments between Pave Bank corporate clients — instant, not T+1 and not through SWIFT chain.