Real-time payments to debit and credit cards in 120 countries across five regions — no bank account details needed.

Gemba is proud to announce the launch of instant cross-border card payouts. Businesses can now send funds directly to recipients' debit or credit cards in real time, across 120 enabled corridors worldwide. Typical settlement takes under 30 seconds.

This new capability allows companies to bypass traditional banking rails entirely. There is no need to collect IBAN numbers, SWIFT codes, or local bank account details. All that is required is the recipient's card number — making payouts as simple as making a purchase, but in reverse.

Why This Matters for Global Businesses

For companies that hire internationally, manage distributed workforces, or process high volumes of medium and low-value cross-border payments, traditional wire transfers and batch-processed bank payouts are slow, expensive, and operationally complex. Gemba's card payout solution addresses each of these pain points head-on.

Instant settlement. Funds arrive on the recipient's card in seconds rather than days. No more waiting for correspondent banking networks or batch processing windows.

Simplified onboarding. Recipients only need to share their card number. No bank account details, no local routing information, no paperwork — dramatically reducing onboarding friction.

Lower costs on small payments. Card payouts eliminate the high fixed fees of international wires, making medium and low-value payments economically viable at scale.

Broader recipient reach. In many emerging markets, card penetration exceeds traditional bank account ownership. Card payouts reach people who may be underbanked but hold a debit or credit card.

Reduced operational overhead. No need to manage beneficiary bank details across dozens of local payment formats. One integration, one data format, global reach.

Improved recipient experience. Contractors, freelancers, and employees get paid instantly to a card they already use daily — improving satisfaction and retention.

Full transparency and tracking. Real-time status updates on every payout. Both sender and recipient know exactly when funds have been delivered.

Multi-currency support. Send payouts in the recipient's local currency or a major settlement currency, with competitive FX rates applied at the point of transaction.

Ideal Use Cases

This launch is particularly relevant for companies managing international contractor and freelancer payments, where recipients are distributed across dozens of countries and expect fast, reliable compensation. It is equally valuable for marketplace and platform payouts — think gig economy platforms, e-commerce marketplaces, and on-demand service providers that need to settle with sellers and drivers quickly.

Insurance companies processing cross-border claims disbursements, travel companies issuing instant refunds, and organisations running incentive or reward programmes across multiple geographies will also benefit from the speed and simplicity of card-based payouts. For any business making recurring, low-to-medium-value international payments, this solution replaces slow, costly bank transfers with a fast, card-based alternative.

Three Ways to Send Payouts

Gemba offers multiple channels to initiate card payouts, so businesses can choose the method that fits their workflow — whether that is a single ad-hoc payment or tens of thousands of disbursements at once.

Dashboard. Send individual payouts directly from your Gemba account. Enter the recipient's card number, specify the amount, and submit. Ideal for one-off payments, urgent disbursements, or operational teams that prefer a simple point-and-click interface.

Bulk payment file. Upload a structured file containing up to 30,000 recipients in a single batch. Perfect for payroll runs, mass commission payouts, or any scenario where large volumes of card payments need to be processed at once.

API integration. Use Gemba's API to trigger individual payout instructions programmatically or submit bulk files directly from your own systems. Built for platforms, marketplaces, and any business that wants to embed instant card payouts into their existing workflows.

Regardless of the channel, every payout follows the same path: Gemba handles currency conversion, compliance screening, and routing through the card network. The recipient sees funds on their card within seconds — typically under 30 seconds for most corridors. Because payments travel through the card networks rather than traditional correspondent banking, they avoid the delays, intermediary fees, and data-loss issues that plague conventional cross-border transfers.

Enabled Payout Corridors

The following 122 corridors are live and available for cross-border card payouts today. Each corridor supports payouts to cardholders in that market.

Europe — 36 corridors

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

Central Europe, Middle East & Africa — 31 corridors

Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Asia Pacific — 23 corridors

Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China Mainland, Cook Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Latin America & Caribbean — 21 corridors

Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

North America — 1 corridor

Canada.

All listed corridors carry a status of Ready or Optimizing. Ready corridors are fully operational. Optimizing corridors are live and processing payouts, with ongoing fine-tuning for approval rates and routing efficiency. Additional corridors are in development and will be announced as they become available.

Ready to Get Started?

Reach out to learn how Gemba's instant card payouts can transform your cross-border payment operations.