The arrangement eliminates the need to prefund accounts across multiple jurisdictions in advance.
USDC News
Singapore-based payments firm Nium has selected Coinbase to bring USDC into its cross-border payments network. The integration covers more than 190 countries and runs custody, liquidity, and wallet services through Coinbase's infrastructure. Businesses using the platform can now fund international payouts in USDC and settle in either stablecoins or local currency.
The arrangement eliminates the need to prefund accounts across multiple jurisdictions in advance. Instead, funds are released at the moment a payout is triggered, a model Nium describes as just-in-time settlement. Businesses can also connect USDC balances to card programs, allowing stablecoin holdings to convert to fiat at the point of sale.
Nium's existing network spans more than 100 currencies. It supports local collection in 40 markets and real-time payouts across more than 100 corridors. The company also holds over 40 regulatory licenses globally, giving the integration immediate reach across major payment corridors.
Earlier this year, Nium launched a separate platform that lets businesses issue cards on Visa and Mastercard networks funded by stablecoin balances. That system handles settlement, compliance, and integration through a single interface, with USDC converting to fiat at the time of each transaction.
USDC, first launched in 2018, is a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued jointly by Circle and Coinbase. It is backed by cash and short-term U.S. Treasury securities and is designed to hold a 1:1 value with the dollar. DefiLlama data places its market capitalization at roughly $78 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin behind Tether's USDT at approximately $188 billion.
Circle has been building USDC's presence in international payments through a series of partnerships this year. In March, it linked with Sasai Fintech to extend USDC payments into African markets, targeting remittances and mobile wallets in corridors where transfer costs regularly exceed 7%. That figure sits well above the 3% ceiling the United Nations has set as a benchmark for remittance affordability.
Circle also partnered with Thunes earlier this month to route USDC settlement across a network reaching more than 140 countries. That deal was structured to reduce reliance on prefunded liquidity while enabling near real-time transfers. The Nium integration adds further depth to USDC's position inside global payment infrastructure.
Supply data from the first quarter of 2026 points to a shift in stablecoin market dynamics. A CEX(dot)IO report found USDC supply rose by roughly $2 billion during that period, while USDT supply contracted by approximately $3 billion. That marks the first time the two stablecoins have moved in opposite directions since 2022, a development that could reflect growing institutional preference for USDC in regulated cross-border payment frameworks.
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