Payments, packetization, and payment bandwidths

Imagine if we could send money the way we send data online—broken into tiny packets, routed independently, and reassembled at the destination. That’s exactly what Interledger Foundation does. This packetisation of value changes how we think about payments and liquidity through payment corridors.

Packetising payments means every payment corridor—whether highly liquid or barely funded—can process payments the same way. Each packet is treated identically, regardless of the corridor's liquidity. This helps payments flow more seamlessly.

Payment corridors can then be thought of as having a 'payment bandwidth' that they support, measured in something like dollars per second. The amount of liquidity available determines the bandwidth of the corridor. Highly liquid corridors can process packets faster, but even low-bandwidth corridors keep payments moving.

Just like data packets on the internet reroute when a path is congested, Interledger packets adapt. If one corridor runs out of liquidity, packets find another way. This helps payments succeed, and moves us to a world where moving value is as seamless as moving data is today. This is the internet-of-value.