Cross-Border Payments

Three Asian central banks move cross-border stablecoin settlement from a corporate-led partnership into a multilateral framework.

The Block reports that Citi is expanding its partnership with Coinbase to build infrastructure connecting traditional fiat payments with stablecoins, offering corporate clients cross-border settlement, liquidity management and compliance services. The deal is a flagship example of collaboration between a global systemically important bank and a leading crypto exchange, and signals that the convergence of traditional finance and crypto assets has entered a more operational phase with major implications for enterprise stablecoin adoption.

Canada’s six largest commercial banks announced a joint exploration of a CAD tokenized deposit system, with the first phase focused on moving digital deposits across institutions and a longer-term goal of connecting to other digital asset initiatives, framed as a regulated-bank response to stablecoin competition.

Iran has eased currency controls to let exporters use overseas earnings directly to fund imports, bypassing the official foreign exchange system, with cryptocurrencies playing a key settlement role in the process. The shift is being read as an important attempt by Iran to build a compliant cross-border payment route under continued Western sanctions and may open new space for compliant crypto asset adoption across the Middle East.

Core Summary Japan’s largest credit card network JCB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with stablecoin issuer Circle to explore using USDC stablecoin for cross-border payments and merchant transactions. This marks an important step for Japan in integrating stablecoins into everyday commerce, potentially covering approximately 40 million merchants. Details CoinDesk reported on July 14 that JCB and Circle will collaborate on research into how USDC can support cross-border payments and merchant transactions. As Japan accelerates efforts to bring stablecoins into everyday commerce, this partnership will provide Japanese merchants with more efficient and lower-cost payment solutions. The combination of JCB’s extensive merchant network and Circle’s technical expertise in stablecoins is expected to drive further adoption of stablecoins in the Asian market. ...

Core Summary The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has officially launched a new blockchain-based ledger system in collaboration with 17 major global banks including HSBC, UBS, Wells Fargo, and Citi. The pilot program spans six continents and focuses on tokenized deposit transactions, marking a significant step by traditional finance into blockchain technology. This initiative aims to enable 24/7 cross-border payment settlement, dramatically improving international fund transfer efficiency. Event Details According to CoinDesk, SWIFT’s new blockchain ledger allows participating banks to conduct real-time transaction pilots using tokenized digital assets. The 17 banks span six continents globally and include financial giants such as HSBC, UBS, Wells Fargo, and Citi. ...

Western Union launched a dollar-backed stablecoin on Solana issued by Anchorage Digital Bank for 24/7 settlement.