What is On-Chain Settlement?
Payments that are finalized directly on the blockchain, without intermediaries.
On-chain settlement means a payment is recorded, verified, and finalized on the blockchain itself. Unlike traditional payment processors that settle in batches over 2-7 business days, on-chain settlement happens in seconds to minutes depending on the blockchain used.
Settlement Speed by Chain
Solana: ~400ms. Arbitrum: ~250ms. Polygon: ~2 seconds. Base: ~2 seconds. BNB Chain: ~3 seconds. Optimism: ~2 seconds. All dramatically faster than traditional ACH (2-3 days) or SWIFT (3-5 days) transfers.
Why On-Chain Settlement Matters
For merchants, instant settlement means better cash flow. No waiting days for funds to clear. No batching. No payout schedules. With Zateway, funds are in your wallet as soon as the transaction is confirmed on-chain.
Finality and Confirmations
Different chains have different finality models. Zateway waits for sufficient block confirmations (typically 20 blocks on EVM chains) before marking a payment as final, ensuring security against chain reorganizations.