USDC enters more directly into the heart of the international payments industry thanks to the recent partnership between Finastra and Circle. The two fintech giants have announced the integration of settlement in USDC into the Global PAYplus (GPP) platform, connected — according to the official statements dated August 27, 2025 — to cross-border flows of over 5 trillion dollars per day and in line with the measurements on large payment systems reported by international bodies BIS. The stated goal is to reduce the time and steps of correspondent banking, while preserving the already operational banking processes of KYC/AML and FX.
- The fact: Finastra’s GPP integrates Circle’s rails for settlement in USDC in cross-border flows.
- The scope: reported volume of $5T per day managed by GPP, as indicated by Circle’s press room and the PR Newswire release dated August 27, 2025.
- Why it matters: potentially near‑instant settlement, less pre-funding on Nostro/Vostro accounts, faster reconciliations.
According to data collected by industry analysts and the operational notes released by the parties involved, the announcement on August 27, 2025, is the result of technical workshops and proof-of-concept conducted between the end of 2024 and mid-2025.
Based on the initial market reports, the pilot implementations on EUR–USD and GBP–USD corridors have shown a significant reduction in settlement times (from T+1/T+2 to a range of minutes–hours in scenarios with optimized on/off-ramps).
Analysts also note that the extent of the prefunding reduction can typically vary between 30% and 70% in initial use cases, depending on the depth of liquidity and agreements with market makers.
What the Finastra–Circle Agreement Entails
Finastra connects Global PAYplus to Circle’s infrastructure. Enabled banks will be able to select settlement in USDC even when instructions remain in fiat currency. In practice, the payment follows the same informational channels, while the settlement occurs in stablecoin.
The model does not require the creation of a new network: it integrates with existing processes of exchange, sanction screening, and AML controls. An interesting aspect is the continuity with standards already familiar to operators.
Why It Matters for Cross-Border Payments
- Time: the purpose on public blockchains can be reduced to seconds/minutes (depending on the rail), compared to T+1/T+2 of traditional banking flows.
- Liquidity: less capital tied up in prefunding on Nostro/Vostro accounts.
- Operational transparency: on-chain traceability and more timely reporting on payment statuses.
What changes in practice
- Settlement time: today many cross-border payments settle in T+1/T+2; with USDC settlement can occur in < 1 hour or in a few minutes depending on the rail and internal policies.
- Pre-funding capital: reduction of inactive balances on correspondent accounts thanks to tokenized liquidity available on demand.
- Operational example: a corporate payment EUR→USD remains instructed in SWIFT/ISO 20022; the bank performs the FX as usual, converts to USDC for settlement, and the beneficiary receives USD via local off‑ramp or retains USDC in regulated custody.
Architecture and Operating Modes
Finastra acts as a bridge between the banking network and Circle’s infrastructure. Payments can be initiated in fiat and settled in USDC, maintaining interoperability with international formats and networks. It should be noted that the logic is one of extension, not replacement.
Key Elements of the Implementation
- Gateway GPP–Circle: API connectivity for mint/redeem USDC and for settlement routing.
- Integrated FX: FX remains in banking processes; net settlement leverages USDC as a transfer asset.
- Compliance: KYC/AML and sanctions screening prior to settlement; on-chain logging for audit.
- Interoperability: support for ISO 20022, integration with SWIFT messaging and other banking channels.
Technical Aspects: rail, purpose, custody, and liquidity
- Blockchain rail: USDC operates on multiple public networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, Base, and, as highlighted by Circle, also on Tron and Algorand. The selection of the rail affects latency, costs, and payment finality.
- Finality: varies by network. Indicative example: Solana offers finality times of approximately 2–5 s for probabilistic finality; solutions on Ethereum Layer 2 allow confirmations in tens of seconds/minutes, useful for complying with banking policies.
- Custody: options for institutional self-custody or regulated custodians for the holding and segregation of digital assets.
- Liquidity: USDC supply through market maker, regulated exchanges, and on/off‑ramp circuits; necessary liquidity provisioning agreements and operational limits.
- Reconciliation: matching between ISO 20022 messages and on-chain transactions, with cryptographic proofs and event logs for audit.
Benefits and Limitations of USDC Integration
Measurable benefits
- Efficiency: reduction of matching steps and cut-off times.
- Transparency: on-chain audit trail and improved visibility on the payment status.
- Operational flexibility: ability to use USDC based on jurisdiction, timing, and rail cost.
Risks and Critical Issues
- Regulation evolving (MiCA in the EU, guidelines from the Financial Stability Board) imposing obligations on reserve, stability, and governance of stablecoin issuers.
- Operational risk: issues related to technical integration, key management, node resilience, and incident response.
- Concentration: dependence on a single issuer and specific public rails.
Implications for Banks: Processes and Governance
Institutions that will enable settlement in USDC will need to update policies, roles, and controls. Specifically, the risk appetite and exposure limits on digital assets will need to be aligned, procedures for custody and segregation of client assets defined, reporting and audit requirements mapped by jurisdiction, and compliance with sanctions and PEP screening on involved counterparties verified.
The management of Finastra and Circle presents the agreement as an incremental evolution, without disruptions to existing flows. In this context, the speed of adoption will depend on the opinions of regulators and the availability of liquidity in USDC in key corridors.
Market Context and Independent Sources
The figure of $5,000 billion/day is reported in corporate communications. For context, according to the McKinsey Global Payments Report, cross-border payment revenues have exceeded several hundred billion dollars, while daily wholesale volumes on large payment systems are measured in trillions, as highlighted in publications by the BIS. It should be noted that, on the regulatory front, the Financial Stability Board reiterates the principle of same activity, same risk, same regulation, intended to guide institutional adoption.
Impact on the stablecoin market
Circle reports a growth of USDC in circulation in 2025, with increased use in treasury and B2B payments. The initiative with Finastra represents a step towards the integration of stablecoins into banking flows; the network effect may emerge if more institutions operate on common rails with coordinated liquidity.
Effects on Businesses and Consumers
- Businesses: faster payments, better cash visibility, and lower reconciliation costs.
- Consumers: potentially faster cross-border credits; the actual benefits will depend on the adoption by local banks.
- PSP/fintech: new settlement options for remittance and cross-border e-commerce.
Next Steps to Monitor
- choice of supported rails in production and definition of SLA objectives;
- agreements with custodians and market makers to ensure the provision of USDC;
- guidance from regulators (EU: MiCA; USA/UK: prudential and market treatments);
- first measurable use cases with data on time and costs.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/08/28/usdc-finastra-connects-circle-to-daily-flows-of-5-trillion/
