Across multiple markets, governments are beginning to test or adopt blockchain-based settlement rails for paying people – wages, stipends, public-sector salaries, pension disbursements or cross-border worker payments.
This shift has been largely quiet, but it is significant. When regulators modernize the underlying rails for worker compensation, it signals that the current system isn’t enough to support the demands of a global labor market.
And CFOs should take that seriously.
This is not going to be a rant about how governments are now “embracing blockchain.” (They are though.)
It’s going to be my take on the current state of governments acknowledging a simple fact: traditional payment infrastructure is no longer sufficient for how people work, live and move money.
Yes, governments are adopting blockchain-based settlement rails
Worker payments expose the weaknesses of traditional rails fastest: delays, mismatched currencies, opaque routing and costly reconciliation. Three pressures are pushing governments toward blockchain-style settlement rails faster than expected:
1. Workforce distribution has changed
Cross-border workers, remote public-sector staff, gig workers and citizens receiving government payments abroad all create scenarios where existing rails – local wires, correspondent banks or legacy treasury systems – are too slow and too expensive.
2. Transparency requirements have increased
Governments need deterministic visibility:
- where the payment is,
- what FX rate applied,
- when the funds landed,
- and whether the transaction met wage, tax and reporting rules.
Blockchain-based rails provide that level of traceability natively.
3. Compliance is easier when the rails are programmable
Tax handling, wage protections, currency controls and cross-border reporting can be encoded directly into the settlement process. With traditional rails, you bolt-on compliance afterwards; with digital rails, you build it in at the infrastructure level.
Governments are choosing blockchain-based settlement rails because their mechanics solve real operational failures.
What’s happening in key markets proves my point
A few examples illustrate the global direction of travel:
Switzerland
Crypto-denominated salary options are permitted under clear regulatory guidance. Municipalities and companies treat partial crypto payroll as routine, subject to standard wage and tax rules. The important part is not the asset, but the normalized acceptance of the rail.
Brazil
One of the world’s most active populations of crypto-native workers. The government responded by licensing virtual asset providers and integrating them into the formal financial system. Cross-border contractor payments and worker payouts increasingly flow through these rails because they settle faster and more predictably than legacy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is not enabling “crypto salaries,” but it is piloting blockchain-based settlement systems for payments, including worker-related flows. In one of the most compliance-heavy jurisdictions, the move toward digital rails is about control, speed and auditability.
Across these markets, the message is consistent: governments are redesigning the pipes beneath payroll.
You’re a CFO. What the heck do you do now?
The question is not whether your organization should “pay salaries in blockchain-based rails.” Most won’t. That’s not the point.
The point is that the underlying settlement architecture for paying people is changing and it’s changing in a direction that governments are already validating. For CFOs, that shift has three implications:
- Multi-rail payouts will become normal - Fiat, stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement rails will coexist. Companies will need infrastructure that can operate across all three.
- Cross-border liquidity management will get simpler – Digital rails reduce float, eliminate hidden FX and shorten reconciliation cycles. This improves treasury visibility — something traditional rails still struggle with.
- Control and compliance will move into the core rails - CFOs will gain higher-fidelity transaction data, reliable timestamps and programmable controls that reduce manual intervention.
Once governments begin modernizing the rails behind worker payments, the private sector doesn’t get to sit still
Every major shift in financial infrastructure is complex, but the end result is the same. While the private sector often innovates first, it is government validation -through regulation, licensing or adoption - that makes the new infrastructure truly reliable and widespread. The private sector creates the capability; the government sets the standard. The companies who wait until the standard is fully mandatory pay the most to catch up.
We are entering that cycle now for worker payments.
Digital settlement rails are being tested, standardized and normalized at the governmental level.
The question is when – and how – prepared finance organizations will be when the transition accelerates.
The companies that really shine at this stage will be recognizing this structural shift today. Right now. And they’re already building the flexibility to operate across whichever rails become standard.
Governments have already shown what the next decade of workforce payments will look like. Smart CFOs will adjust before they’re forced to.
Royi Carmeli is an accomplished Israeli professional known for combining strategic vision with hands-on leadership in global technology operations. Based in Israel, Royi is recognized for driving teams that deliver scalable solutions across borders.
He is deeply engaged with technology and workforce-services convergence, bringing a mindset shaped by problem-solving, collaboration and operational excellence. Outside of the boardroom, Royi is active in professional networks and drives connections across global payments and workforce ecosystems.
