TL;DR
- Circle will offer USDC payments in Europe and India through an integration with Saber, enabling settlement in local currencies.
- Payments are settled in euros via SEPA and in rupees via IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT, under a single-integration model that avoids signing bilateral banking agreements.
- Saber integrated as a Beneficiary Financial Institution with 24/7 fiat off-ramps.
Circle expanded its Circle Payments Network to add new payment rails with local settlement in Europe and India. The expansion is being implemented through an integration with Saber money, allowing businesses to send USDC onchain while recipients receive fiat currency directly into local bank accounts.
In Europe, payments are settled in euros through SEPA. In India, transfers are processed in rupees via IMPS, RTGS, and NEFT. Circle confirmed that the rails are already live and operate under the same technical and operational standards used by the network in other markets. The new model allows access to multiple regions through a single integration, without the need to establish individual bilateral agreements with local banks.
Connecting Banks and Stablecoins
This integration links stablecoin liquidity with existing banking rails. Businesses send digital dollars onchain, and the funds are converted and settled in local currency within the payment infrastructure. The design targets B2B payments, freelancer payouts, corporate remittances, and treasury operations with near-instant settlement.
Saber integrated with the Circle Payments Network as a Beneficiary Financial Institution. The company operates cross-border payment infrastructure powered by Mudrex Inc. and processes more than $1.5 billion in annualized volume. Through this integration, Saber will offer instant fiat off-ramps, 24/7 settlement, and direct conversion from USDC to local currency. The platform serves remittance, payroll, and fintech sectors through developer-oriented APIs.
Institutions using Saber will be able to access real-time domestic payment systems across multiple countries, using regulated stablecoins as the settlement layer. This structure will preserve the operational requirements related to compliance, security, and controls expected of financial institutions.
Circle Launched USDCx for Private Payments
In addition, Circle launched USDCx on the Aleo blockchain. USDCx is a stablecoin backed 1:1 by USDC held in segregated reserves. This stablecoin is designed for private payments and confidential workflows on zero-knowledge-based infrastructure. The company stated that USDCx is fully interoperable with standard USDC and does not rely on external bridges to execute onchain transfers.
Data from 2025 shows that global stablecoin transaction volumes exceeded $2 trillion annually. Within that total, a significant share corresponds to operational payments and commercial settlements
