Mastercard and Circle are strengthening their partnership to enable settlement in USDC and EURC stablecoins across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA). This marks the first time acquiring institutions in the region can settle transactions using stablecoins, signaling a major step in merging blockchain assets with traditional payment infrastructure. Arab Financial Services and Eazy Financial Services will be the first acquirers to adopt the new system.

The initiative allows institutions to settle in fully reserved USDC and EURC, bringing faster, more secure, and efficient digital payments for merchants. This builds on previous collaborations between Mastercard and Circle, including crypto card solutions like Bybit and S1LKPAY. The move is expected to cut friction in cross-border payments and strengthen liquidity across emerging markets, unlocking new opportunities for digital trade.

Executives from Mastercard, Circle, and regional partners hailed the collaboration as transformative. Mastercard emphasized its commitment to building secure, regulated infrastructure for tokenized money, while Circle highlighted the milestone as a step toward borderless, real-time commerce. With stablecoins gaining traction, this partnership sets the stage for wider adoption in global payments.

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