Circle Partners with Mastercard and Finastra to Enhance Stablecoin Settlements

According to BlockBeats, Circle has announced a collaboration with Mastercard and Finastra to integrate stablecoin settlement capabilities into mainstream finance, aiming to further incorporate USDC into the global payments sector. Mastercard revealed on Wednesday that it will enable acquiring institutions and merchants in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to settle transactions using USDC and EURC. Arab Financial Services and Eazy Financial Services will be the first to adopt this service, marking Mastercard's initial offering of stablecoin settlement services in the region. London-based financial software provider Finastra also announced on Wednesday the integration of USDC into its Global PAYplus platform, which processes over $5 trillion in cross-border transactions daily. Circle stated that this integration will allow banks in 50 countries to use USDC for international payment settlements, even if the payment instructions are still denominated in fiat currency.