As financial infrastructure continues to evolve, the lines between traditional banking, payments, forex, and digital assets are becoming increasingly blurred. Businesses operating globally now need faster and more transparent ways to move money across currencies, markets, and even platforms.
To explore the ways this shift is reshaping the future of financial services, we spoke with Lux Thiagarajah, Chief Commercial Officer at OpenPayd.
With a career spanning FX trading at JP Morgan, senior roles at institutions such as HSBC, as well as leadership positions across digital-native companies such as BCB Group and FalconX, he brings a unique perspective on the convergence of legacy finance and modern fintech infrastructure.
In the following interview, he talks about how his trading background informs his view of payments, why unified financial infrastructure is becoming essential for global businesses, and where the next phase of fintech growth will be coming from.
You began your career as an FX trader at J.P. Morgan before moving into senior leadership roles across trading and payments. How has that trading background shaped the way you think about payments infrastructure and financial services today?
More than anything else, my trading background shaped how I think about efficiency and timing.
On a trading desk, you are constantly focused on execution. Speed matters, pricing matters, and small inefficiencies compound very quickly. If settlement is delayed or costs are unclear, that directly impacts profitability. That mindset carries through into how I view payments today.
When I look at payments infrastructure, I see it through that same lens. It should be fast, transparent and predictable. Too much of the legacy system still operates with delays, opaque FX spreads and multiple intermediaries. That may have been acceptable historically, but it is increasingly out of step with how businesses operate today.
It also taught me the importance of liquidity. Whether in FX markets or payments, access to liquidity at the right time, in the right currency, is what ultimately determines how efficient a system is. That is why the convergence of fiat and stablecoin liquidity is such an important development for financial services.
You’ve worked across both traditional finance institutions like HSBC and newer digital-native companies such as FalconX and BCB Group. What are the biggest structural differences you’ve observed between legacy financial systems and modern fintech infrastructure?
I believe that the biggest difference is not just technology, it is mindset.
Legacy financial systems were built for a different era. They are robust and trusted, but they are also rigid. Processes are often batch-based, infrastructure is fragmented, and change takes time because everything is layered on top of decades of existing systems.
Modern fintech infrastructure is designed with flexibility from day one. It is API-first, modular and built to scale across markets quickly. Instead of stitching together multiple providers, you are creating a single layer that orchestrates everything behind the scenes.
The other key difference is how problems are approached. Traditional institutions tend to optimise within existing frameworks rather than remove the constraints, whereas fintechs are more willing to rethink the model entirely. That is why we are now seeing infrastructure that connects payment rails, FX and digital assets in a unified way, rather than treating them as separate systems.
What has become clear over time is that neither side can do it alone. The future is not one replacing the other. It is about combining the resilience and trust of traditional finance with the flexibility and speed of modern infrastructure.
As Chief Commercial Officer at OpenPayd, you’re responsible for driving growth across both new and existing clients. What are the key capabilities that fintechs, exchanges, and digital platforms are now looking for in payments partners?
Clients are no longer looking for a single payment rail or a point solution. They want infrastructure that grows with them without constantly re-engineering their setup. That means access to accounts, payments, FX and increasingly digital assets, all through one integration. The days of stitching together multiple providers for different functions now feels outdated.
There is also a much sharper focus on reliability. When payments sit at the core of your product, there is no margin for error. It is not just about speed; it is about consistency and control at scale.
And then there is optionality. Clients do not want to be locked into one rail or one model. They want the flexibility to route transactions in the most efficient way, whether that is through traditional rails or newer settlement methods like stablecoins, without adding complexity to their operations.
Embedded finance and programmable payments are becoming central themes across fintech. How do you see these trends reshaping the relationship between platforms, financial institutions, and end users over the next few years?
Embedded finance is changing how financial capabilities are delivered. Instead of being accessed separately, they are now built directly into platforms, becoming part of the product itself. Programmable payments take that further by automating how money moves, reducing manual processes and improving efficiency at scale.
The roles are becoming clearer. Platforms own the user experience, infrastructure providers manage the complexity behind the scenes, and banks continue to provide the regulatory foundation.
For users, it feels seamless. For businesses, it means far greater control over how money flows through their ecosystem.
OpenPayd operates at the intersection of payments, banking, and digital assets. How important is a unified financial infrastructure for companies operating globally, particularly those scaling across multiple jurisdictions?
It is becoming essential. Businesses with global ambitions deal with different banks, different rails, different regulatory frameworks, and now different asset types. Each layer adds complexity, and that complexity does not scale well.
A unified infrastructure simplifies that environment. It allows businesses to access local and international payments, FX and digital assets through a single framework, rather than building separate systems for each market or use case.
The real value of a unified infrastructure is operational – consistent and standardised processes for compliance, reporting, settlement and treasury management across all regions. It unlocks scale. Without it, expansion into new markets becomes slower, more expensive and more operationally complex than it needs to be.
Strategic partnerships are a major part of your role. What makes a partnership truly valuable in today’s fintech ecosystem, and how should companies think about building long-term collaboration rather than simple integrations?
The difference comes down to alignment. Is the goal to solve a specific or short-term need, or are both sides working towards a shared objective? The most valuable partnerships I have seen are the ones where each side brings something the other cannot easily replicate, whether that is distribution, regulatory coverage or technical capability.
There is also an element of trust. Not just in terms of compliance, but in how you operate together day to day. In a fast-moving environment, things change. The partnerships that last are the ones that can adapt without constantly renegotiating the fundamentals.
Looking ahead, what do you think will define the next phase of growth for fintech infrastructure providers, and where do you see the biggest opportunities for companies like OpenPayd in the next 3–5 years?
The next phase will be defined by convergence across financial infrastructure. A lot of the core building blocks already exist. Stablecoins have proven they can operate at scale, APIs are standard, and regulatory frameworks, such as MiCA and the GENIUS Act, are becoming clearer. The challenge now is making all of these components work together in a way that feels simple to the end user.
That is where the opportunity sits – in orchestration. The underlying rails already exist, but they are fragmented. The providers that can unify those rails and abstract the complexity will become the backbone of global financial services.
For OpenPayd, that means continuing to build the universal financial infrastructure that allows businesses to move money globally, across both fiat and digital assets, without friction.
Disclaimer: The content shared in this interview is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendation, or endorsement of any project, protocol, or asset. The cryptocurrency space involves risk and volatility. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial decisions. This interview was conducted in cooperation with OpenPayd, who generously shared their time and insights. The content has been reviewed and approved for publication in mutual understanding. Minor edits have been made for clarity and readability, while preserving the substance and tone of the original conversation.
