Case study: SquareFi and BCB Group

• Interviewee name: Anton Lobintsev
• Company name: SquareFi
• Job title: Co-founder & CTO
• Company URL: https://squarefi.co/
• Industry: Fintech
• Headquarters location: United States
• Number of employees: 25

1. About your organisation

1.1 In a sentence or two, how would you describe your business and the type of clients you work with?

SquareFi is the stablecoin payment infrastructure for fintechs and global platforms, enabling businesses to move money faster, launch financial products quickly, and operate across 150+ countries. We also run Mosta, an AI-native business banking for global teams and AI agents, built on SquareFi’s infrastructure, combining accounts, cards, cross-border payments, invoicing, and stablecoin settlement in one platform.

The core problem was a lack of control, where clients were handed off into a black box. We couldn’t control payment flows, couldn’t influence how long processes took, and had no meaningful visibility into what was happening with funds in transit.

2. The challenge: risk, speed and operational control

2.1 Before partnering with BCB Group, what were the main challenges you faced in terms of moving money reliably and at scale?

Before building our own controlled infrastructure, we relied on turnkey providers who handled compliance on their side. As we moved to build our own infrastructure from scratch, we needed partners who would make us effectively a part of the flow and not just route us through one.

2.2 Were there any specific constraints or risks that became more noticeable as your business grew?

The primary constraint was predictability. Anything related to unexpected payment holds, unexplained delays, and limited control over fund directions created a level of operational uncertainty we couldn’t accept. Building infrastructure requires knowing with near-certainty that a compliant, correctly structured payment will go through.

2.3 How were these challenges impacting your operations and client services?

Any lack of control or predictability over fund flows, especially complex payment flows, meant that if something went wrong, we had limited ability to diagnose or resolve the situation. To an extent, it also limited our ability to build, because infrastructure requires predictable foundations, and unpredictable banking rails stall product development.

3. Choosing BCB Group

3.1 When evaluating potential banking or payments partners, what criteria mattered most to you?

Predictability and speed of settlement are truly important. We needed to know with near-certainty that a correctly structured payment would reach the recipient without unexpected holds, unexplained exceptions, or ambiguous outcomes. BCB Group’s reputation for settlement reliability and the quality of their rails made them the right fit for the infrastructure we were building. Control was equally important. Rather than a turnkey arrangement where funds disappear into someone else’s process, we needed a partner where we retain visibility and direction over fund flows.

3.2 How important was it to work with a partner whose attitude to risk and operational resilience would be recognised and trusted by your counterparties?

Extremely important. At the infrastructure layer, your partner’s credibility becomes part of your own. BCB Group’s standing and the quality of accounts and rails they provide strengthen our counterparties and clients’ confidence in the overall system.

3.3 Did BCB Group’s existing network or connectivity play a role in your decision?

Yes. BCB Group provides EUR accounts, USD SWIFT, US wire on local American rails, and AED rails covering key corridors for our OTC and off-ramp flows. That multi-rail coverage within a single, reliable partner reduces the fragmentation we’re trying to solve for our own clients. Their BCB Markets liquidity offering also serves as a strong backup for FX needs across a wide range of currency pairs.

4. Working with BCB Group

4.1 How do you use BCB Group on a day-to-day basis?

We use BCB Group primarily across three areas. First, for large OTC transactions, we operate pooled accounts with them specifically structured for this. Second, as a key part of our off-ramp flow: when converting funds from a liquidity provider, we route through BCB and on to the client’s account at their banking provider. Third, for internal treasury rebalancing. We’re also building toward introducing virtual accounts through BCB so clients can execute OTC transactions directly through our Mosta interface.

4.2 What difference has this made to the predictability and reliability of your transactions?

With BCB Group, we know with near-certainty that a correctly structured, compliant payment will settle without unexpected holds or unexplained delays. Payments regularly arrive within the day, even when the SLA is T+1. That predictability is essential to build dependable infrastructure. 4. Working with BCB Group (cont.)

4.3 Have you seen improvements in any of the following areas since partnering with BCB Group?

• Settlement speed or consistency
• Operational friction or manual work
• Payment reliability or failure rates
• Visibility over balances and transactions
• Reconciliation or reporting

Settlement consistency has been the standout improvement. Funds move at the speed BCB commits to, and exceptions are rare. The reduction in unexplained holds has directly reduced manual operational overhead. Visibility over balances and fund directions is also meaningfully better; we have full control over where funds go and can monitor positions clearly, which shortens the decision loop on treasury and reduces reconciliation burden.

4.4 How important is BCB Group’s responsiveness and support when any issues arise?

BCB Group’s support is among the best we’ve encountered. They’re highly available and responsive. That responsiveness extends to both BCB Payments and BCB Markets. For an infrastructure business where a delayed answer can block a client transaction, having a support channel that actually works in real time is crucial.

5. Risk management and operational control

5.1 How has working with BCB Group affected your ability to manage risk across treasury, payments or counterparties?

Working with BCB Group has given us full control over funds, fund directions, and compliance, which is the opposite of the black-box model we moved away from.

That control is itself the risk management framework.

5.2 Has the transparency or clarity of information from BCB Group made it easier to meet your internal, regulatory or client expectations?

BCB is structurally embedded in our infrastructure rather than acting as an opaque third party.

This means the information we need for internal reporting, compliance, and client documentation is accessible and accurate. That clarity makes our own compliance obligations easier to meet.

6. Outcomes and impact

Rather than precise KPIs, we’re interested in tangible operational outcomes.

6.1 Can you share any examples of improvements you’ve seen since partnering with BCB Group?

The most concrete outcome is the ability to handle large OTC deals and high-volume off-ramp flows with consistency and control.

That reliability has enabled us to take on more demanding clients and larger transactions without the operational risk that would have accompanied them before.

6.2 How has this partnership supported your ability to grow without introducing additional risk or operational challenges?

BCB Group gives us full control over fund flows and compliance, so scaling volume doesn’t necessarily mean scaling uncertainty. The plan to introduce virtual accounts through BCB for Mosta clients is a direct extension of that: more volume, more client autonomy, but the same infrastructure.

7. Looking ahead

7.1 As your business continues to scale, what strengths/capabilities will be most important from a banking or payments partner?

Predictability above everything. When you’re building infrastructure, your clients depend on you the same way you depend on your partners, and that chain of reliability has to hold end to end. After predictability, it’s the settlement speed and rail coverage. BCB Group already performs well on both; what matters as we scale is that those capabilities extend to new corridors and higher volumes without degradation.

7.2 How do you see your relationship with BCB Group evolving over the next 12-24 months?

We expect to deepen the relationship. Expanding OTC capacity, increasing the role BCB plays in our off-ramp flow, and introducing virtual accounts so Mosta clients can transact directly through the BCB infrastructure.

As our volumes grow and client base diversifies, BCB’s multi-currency rail coverage and liquidity capabilities become more valuable.

8. Final view

8.1 If you were speaking to another fast-growing payments or financial services firm, how would you describe your experience of working with BCB Group?

BCB Group genuinely understands the operational reality of crypto-adjacent financial services and builds successfully for it. The combination of settlement predictability, speed, multi-rail coverage, and remarkable support makes them a reliable foundation for infrastructure that has to perform consistently at scale.

SquareFi’s core problem was a lack of control, where clients were handed off into a black box. They couldn’t control payment flows, couldn’t influence how long processes took, and had no meaningful visibility into what was happening with funds in transit.

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