Singapore-based fintech firm Nium has partnered with Coinbase to bring USDC-powered cross-border payments to its global network.
Summary
- Nium has integrated Coinbase infrastructure to enable USDC-based cross-border payments across more than 190 countries.
- Businesses can fund payouts on demand in USDC and settle in local currencies without maintaining prefunded accounts.
According to a Tuesday announcement, the integration plugs Coinbase’s custody, liquidity, and wallet infrastructure into Nium’s platform, allowing businesses to send, receive, and convert stablecoins across more than 190 countries through a single system.
Clients can fund payouts using USDC and choose to settle either in stablecoins or local currencies.
According to Nium, the setup removes a long-standing friction in cross-border payments, where firms typically have to prefund accounts in multiple regions before initiating transfers.
“There’s no capital left sitting idle because all of this happens nearly instantly – any day of the week, any time of day, and without multi-step manual conversions or dependency on correspondent banking chains,” said Santhosh Srinivasan, VP of Treasury at Nium.
On-demand funding using USDC allows businesses to convert to fiat in a single managed flow before sending payouts globally. Transactions no longer depend on layered banking intermediaries or settlement windows tied to time zones.
Nium added that the integration also allows stablecoin balances to be linked with card programs, enabling real-world spending through existing payment rails.
The company’s network currently supports over 100 currencies, with local collection in 40 markets, real-time payouts across more than 100 corridors, and over 40 regulatory licenses globally.
Recent product launches show how the firm is building around stablecoin infrastructure. Businesses can now issue stablecoin-funded cards on Visa and Mastercard networks, where balances convert to fiat at the point of sale while settlement and compliance are handled within a single system.
USDC adoption expands across payment networks
USD Coin, launched in 2018 by Circle and Coinbase, maintains a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar and is backed by cash and short-term U.S. Treasury reserves. Data from DeFiLlama places its market capitalization near $78 billion, second only to Tether at roughly $188 billion.
Circle has been extending USDC’s use in cross-border payments through multiple partnerships tied to existing financial networks.
In March, the firm partnered with Sasai Fintech to expand USDC-based transfers across African corridors, targeting remittances, business payments, and mobile wallets in regions where transfer costs often exceed 7%, well above the United Nations’ 3% benchmark.
Another recent integration with Thunes brought USDC settlement into a network spanning more than 140 countries, enabling near real-time transfers while reducing reliance on prefunded liquidity.
