Finastra has teamed up with Circle to help banks integrate stablecoin settlement into their cross-border payment flows. The collaboration sees Circle’s USDC stablecoin integrated with Finastra’s payment hub technology, including the Global PAYplus (GPP) platform. Connecting Finastra’s GPP customers to Circle’s infrastructure will enable settlement in USDC even when payment instructions on both sides remain in fiat currency. This, say the partners, provides banks the optionality to reduce reliance on traditional correspondent banking chains, accelerating settlement times while maintaining compliance and FX processes. “This collaboration is about giving banks the tools they need to innovate in cross-border payments without having to build a standalone payment processing infrastructure,” says Chris Walters, CEO, Finastra. Jeremy Allaire, CEO, Circle, adds: “Together, we’re enabling financial institutions to test and launch innovative payment models that combine blockchain technology with the scale and trust of the existing banking system.”