After a period of reflection, we have made a change to the direction of the Interledger Foundation's work. I want to share what is changing, and the thinking behind it.

Going forward, the Foundation will not build or operate consumer-facing financial products ourselves. Instead, we are focusing on the core of why this organization exists: expanding digital financial access, advancing adoption of the Interledger Protocol, and building financial agency for underrepresented communities.

As part of this, we are winding down three initiatives: the Interledger Wallet and the issuance of Interledger cards, and the productization of Web Monetization.

Why We Are Refocusing

Our strength has always been the Interledger Protocol paired with our grantmaking, and the relationships and technical trust we have built across the ecosystem over the past six years. Rather than building financial products, we will continue to provide the connective infrastructure that lets regulated financial service providers, including community banks, credit unions, and fintechs, reach each other and their members more easily, and connect to the broader financial system.

This change is led by evidence. What we have seen in Mexico and increasingly in places like the United States and Colombia, is a real and pressing need for connectivity between community-run financial institutions, and for instant, interoperable payments between them. This is where open infrastructure can do the most good, and where we are best placed to help.

A Word on the Interledger Wallet

The Wallet was an exciting and promising piece of work, and I know many of you followed it closely and looked forward to its launch.

However, operating a consumer product of this kind demands a set of capabilities and a commercial, operational and regulatory posture, that pull against what the Foundation is and does best: supporting aligned organizations to integrate with Interledger technology and learn about and advocate for open financial systems. 

A huge amount of hard work, creativity, and effort went into developing the Wallet over the last couple of years. We remain incredibly grateful to all those who worked on it over the last couple of years. 

What this means for the technology, and for you

The open standards and the technology at the heart of Interledger continue, and remain our focus. The Interledger Protocol, Open Payments, and Rafiki are open source, openly governed, and actively stewarded by the Foundation, with a strong, active and growing Community around it. The Web Monetization extension and browser implementation will be maintained, and we will be doubling down on our commitment to advancing the Web Monetization standard through the W3C - you can read more on the Web Monetization website. The Interledger Wallet's code will be made open-source and available, although will be deprecated and not maintained.

Our grantmaking continues, and will increasingly support the institutions and builders working to connect community finance through Interledger.

If you are building on, or integrated with, any of the initiatives we are winding down, we want to support you through the transition. Please reach out to us at walletclosure@interledger.org and we will help you find the suitable path forward.

If you are a user of the Interledger Wallet, you will receive a communication very soon regarding the specific next steps for your account and your options to offboard from the wallet and obtain your funds.

What comes next 

We are energized to put our full focus back where it belongs: on open infrastructure and grantmaking in service of fair financial access for the communities who need it most. We will continue to build on the open Interledger stack and continue to issue grants, increasingly supporting the institutions and builders working on community finance models and solutions. 

None of this happens in isolation. To our community, our grantees, and our partners: thank you for building this with us and walking alongside us. What comes next will be stronger for the focus we are bringing to it.