In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray talks with Sumit Kishore about building payment infrastructure for the non-custodial world. Kishore argues that payments are due for the same shift telecom went through, when international calls went from expensive to nearly free. He traces his path from leading a settlement team at Bank of New York Mellon for a large European hedge fund, through his years at Consensus, where he founded an AML product, to building ActaLink. He explains how faster on-chain settlement can multiply the usefulness of capital, and why self-custody gives users control that banks and centralized platforms do not. A walkthrough follows of a grandmother in Calcutta receiving USDC from her grandson using only a phone number and a one-time password, with no gas fees and no bank. Kishore also covers how ActaLink's first merchant arrived through a blunt conversation about company tokens, and how its merchant links, enterprise direct deposit, embedded billing, and the Acta Money consumer app fit together. He notes the company is bootstrapped and offers a free, non-KYC test account.
Sumit Kishore explains how ActaLink aims to be the Stripe of the non-custodial world, with payments costing a fraction of today's fees.
What problem are you solving, and what should listeners take away?
Payments are where telecom was years ago, when calls cost $30 to $50 a month and are now free internationally. Payment giants still charge 2% to 3%. The world is ready for seamless, permissionless payments. We can send money across the world for about one cent, and run other operations for 20 to 30 basis points, roughly a tenth of current costs.
What did running settlement at a giant hedge fund teach you about how money moves?
At Bank of New York Mellon I led settlement for one of Europe's biggest hedge funds, handling 40,000 trades a day. With two-day settlement, a million dollars can support only about $10 million of trades. On a distributed ledger with tokenized assets, trades settle in seconds, so the same capital can be reused far more. That multiplies what money can do.
What did your years at Consensus teach you that you couldn't have learned elsewhere?
I learned that very large things are usually built by very small groups, often three to five people. I founded an AML software product there that later became codified compliance, and we analyzed over half a million Ethereum tokens. I also learned kindness and how to work with remote teams. Seeing people ship and gain traction made me believe it was possible.
Why do old payment rails break when money lives in a wallet?
With centralized custody, whether a bank or an exchange, they control your money and decide whether you can move it. One day a large European fintech blocked my company account, with salaries due in three days. In self-custody you are free. You control access and decide what to do with your capital, instead of someone else profiting from it.
Can you walk us through a real-life example, like sending money to a grandmother in Calcutta?
The grandmother opens Acta Money, enters her phone number, and types a one-time password. She instantly has a crypto wallet. Her grandson sends USDC from the US and she receives it in a second. Everything is gasless, so she can send it onward immediately. No bank is involved unless she chooses to off-ramp and complete KYC.
How did your first merchant find you?
I speak bluntly. A CTO of a well-known company wanted to be paid in his own token, and I told him that forcing the world to use one token made no sense. People should be paid in dollars or stablecoins. He liked that I pushed back. A few days later he added me to a group chat introducing our first client.
What is ActaLink, and what products does it offer?
ActaLink is a payment and settlement company purely for on-chain assets, like a Stripe of the non-custodial world. We never touch the money or take control from users, yet funds go directly to the merchant. We offer merchant links with one-time and recurring payments, enterprise direct deposit, embedded billing, and the Acta Money consumer app. The products work separately or together.
Where can people learn more, and how can they try it?
Visit our webpage, Acta.Link, or find our LinkedIn page. I am not much on X. Our platforms are non-KYC, so you can enter your Google or email ID, get a free account, and test everything in seconds. We never raised money and have bootstrapped, which lets us stay flexible and competitive.
Building something daring? Sunny talks to founders like this every day. Fifteen minutes to see if your story belongs on the stage.
Claim your pre-interviewSend a founder here and we will know it was you.