Full Case Study
Project breakdown
Key Takeaway
A US staffing company paying 200 contractors in Philippines reduced monthly friction cost from $24,000 to $1,400 using USDC on Polygon. $30 wire fee → $0.0001 gas. 3% FX spread → 0.3%. 3-5 days → 15 minutes. Annual savings: $271,200. Development cost: $18,000. 15× ROI in Year 1.
Client:
Staffing company, US (confidential), paying remote workers in Philippines
Problem:
Paying 200 contractors monthly: $30 wire fee per payment + 3% FX spread + 3–5 business day settlement. Monthly fee: $6,000 bank fees + ~$18,000 FX spread on $600K payments = $24,000/month in pure friction.
Solution:
USDC on Polygon for payment; local USDC-to-PHP conversion by Coins.ph
Timeline:
6 weeks to implement
Investment:
$18,000
Results
| Metric | Before (Wire) | After (USDC) |
|---|---|---|
| Per-payment fee | $30 wire fee | $0.0001 gas |
| FX spread | 3.0% | 0.3% (Coins.ph) |
| Settlement time | 3–5 business days | 15 minutes |
| Monthly friction cost | $24,000 | $1,400 |
| Annual savings | — | $271,200 |
| Implementation ROI | — | 15× in Year 1 |
Contractor satisfaction: 89% of contractors preferred the new system. Primary reason: faster access to funds.
