The collaboration between Finastra and Circle allows financial institutions to experiment with and roll out new stablecoin payment models that merge blockchain innovation with the reliability and reach of traditional banking.
Finastra, a global provider of financial software and payment solutions, has partnered with Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, to integrate digital currency settlement into its payment hub technology, including the Global PAYplus (GPP) platform, which processes over $5 trillion in cross-border transactions every day.
Through this integration, banks using Finastra’s GPP will be able to settle transactions in USDC while keeping the original payment instructions denominated in fiat currencies. The mechanism connects GPP’s payment processing capabilities with Circle’s blockchain-based infrastructure, creating a bridge between traditional banking systems and digital assets.
According to the companies, this approach allows financial institutions to reduce dependency on traditional correspondent banking networks, shorten settlement times, and still preserve compliance and foreign exchange processes. The partners describe the move as a way for banks to access blockchain-based settlement models without the need to develop their own independent payment infrastructure.
Banks and financial institutions increasingly view stablecoins as a strategic tool to tackle common cross-border payment challenges such as high costs, slow settlement times, and a lack of transparency.
Recent survey data shows that 90% of financial institutions are considering stablecoin integration in some form, with 49% already using them for cross-border payments. Stablecoin transaction volumes are also soaring, especially since the regulation clarity around digital assets increased in certain regions. Stablecoin global usage surged in late 2024 and continued its rally this year. In July, the aggregate stablecoin market cap lay in the range between $250 and $263 billion.
In Southeast Asia, stablecoins account for over 43% of B2B cross-border payment volume, while the number of freelancers paid via stablecoins grew 39% year over year in early 2025. Stability, speed, and programmability are cited as key drivers behind this shift to crypto asset settlement.
