Major financing institutions, including DB, Santander, and StanChart, are advising Circle on the development of a new stablecoin-based payments network.
Circle's Circle Payments Network Aims to Revolutionise Cross-Border Payments
Circle, the stablecoin issuer, has unveiled the Circle Payments Network (CPN), a groundbreaking initiative designed to streamline cross-border payments using stablecoins such as USDC and EURC. This innovative network promises near-instant, 24/7 global settlement, significantly reducing delays and costs associated with traditional correspondent banking and SWIFT systems.
Operating as a non-custodial, off-chain orchestration platform, CPN coordinates Originating Financial Institutions (OFIs) and Beneficiary Financial Institutions (BFIs), facilitating rapid fiat-to-stablecoin onramps and stablecoin-to-fiat offramps. This reduction in reliance on multiple intermediaries enhances transparency, security, and compliance via built-in on-chain regulatory primitives.
The network supports various payment scenarios like remittances, payroll, and treasury services, and boasts partnerships with over 20 financial institutions including WorldRemit, dLocal, and Yellow Card. CPN aims for broad institutional adoption and global reach with a single integration.
In comparison, details about Ubyx's cross-border payment solution are not provided in the available data. However, Circle's CPN differentiates itself through its strong regulatory alignment, broad institutional partnerships, interoperability across public blockchains, and connection to Circle's broader ecosystem. This holistic, compliance-first infrastructure targets institutional clients and multinational corporations requiring trust and speed in cross-border payments.
CPN's features stand out as a leading, compliance-driven stablecoin payment infrastructure designed to improve speed, cost, and regulatory certainty for global payments. The network will transition to a fully on-chain architecture for FX routing, aggregation, and settlement, and will retain governance and responsibility for standard setting within the network.
Circle has recently filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the start of this month, but the timing of the IPO remains uncertain due to stock market volatility following recent sanctions announcements. The company is collaborating with several banks, including Deutsche Bank, Santander, Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered, as well as 28 payment firms.
Meanwhile, a new startup, Ubyx, is eyeing the same space as Circle but is open to working with a variety of stablecoins. If Ubyx becomes successful, it could level the playing field, potentially enabling smaller stablecoins to compete more effectively. The founder of Ubyx has a banking background, which emphasizes banks in its approach.
Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle, stated that CPN enables the embedding of value transfer into modern financial applications, positioning it as a scalable, transparent alternative to legacy systems and rival blockchain-based payment networks like XRP’s infrastructure.
- The Circle Payments Network (CPN), a revolutionary foundation in banking, utilizes stablecoins like USDC and EURC to streamline cross-border payments, offering enhanced speed, transparency, and cost efficiency over traditional finance methods such as correspondent banking and SWIFT systems.
- In the world of finance and technology, the Circle Payments Network (CPN) has forged strategic partnerships with over 20 financial institutions, including WorldRemit, dLocal, and Yellow Card, and aims for broad institutional adoption, focusing on regulatory alignment and interoperability across public blockchains.
- Ubyx, a new contender in the cross-border payment sector, is positioning itself as a challenger to Circle's CPN. With a banking background, Ubyx is open to multiple stablecoins and, if successful, could potentially benefit smaller stablecoins by fostering a more competitive environment in the finance business.
