Stablecoin Payments

A payment that crosses borders through the banking system usually moves through a chain of correspondent banks, each holding an account for the next bank in the chain. Every hop adds a fee, a cut-off time and a chance for the message to stall while a bank checks it against sanctions lists. SWIFT carries the payment instructions between banks, but the money itself still moves at the pace of each bank's own settlement hours, which is why a payment sent on a Friday evening can take until Monday to arrive. A business paying a supplier in another currency also carries the cost of that delay: the money sits in transit, earning nothing, while both sides wait for it to clear.

A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a stable value, most often by being fully backed one-to-one by reserves in the currency it tracks. Sending a stablecoin payment means transferring that token directly on a blockchain, without a chain of correspondent banks in between. The receiving party gets a token it can hold, convert to local currency, or spend again immediately, at any hour and any day of the week. Settlement follows the blockchain's own confirmation time, typically minutes, on a schedule that does not depend on any bank being open.

Visa began extending stablecoin settlement across Visa Direct in 2026, reaching billions of eligible cards, accounts and wallets across more than 190 countries, with USDC as the primary settlement asset. Mastercard's Multi-Token Network settles through regulated stablecoins including USDC and Ripple's RLUSD. Business-to-business stablecoin payments reached roughly 226 billion US dollars over twelve months, up more than sevenfold from the year before, a growth rate driven mainly by companies that move money across borders for suppliers or payroll. On the European side, AllUnity, the Frankfurt venture behind the MiCA-licensed euro stablecoin EURAU, and Circle's EURC give payment providers a euro-denominated option that settles under the same MiCA e-money token rules as a bank's own float.

A stablecoin pegged to a single currency such as the euro counts as an e-money token under MiCA. Its issuer needs authorization as an e-money institution or a credit institution, must hold reserves that fully back every token in circulation, and must let a holder redeem the token for the underlying currency at any time, at par value, free of charge. A payment firm that moves a stablecoin on a customer's behalf also falls under MiCA as a crypto-asset service provider, with its own authorization and the EU's travel rule obligations for sender and recipient data. These rules exist so that a euro stablecoin used to settle a payment carries the same redemption guarantee a bank deposit carries, even though it moves on different infrastructure.

Finance Loop is a strategic partner of the Digital Euro Association, the Frankfurt think tank behind the Digital Euro Conference, where central banks, commercial banks and fintechs cover stablecoins alongside the digital euro. Finance Loop supported the Bybit EU x Circle Roadshow in Frankfurt, with panels on stablecoins, USDC and EURC, and When Banks Say 'No', a payments seminar for compliance, treasury and legal teams. Stablecoin payments sit in Finance Loop's Payments & Digital Money track. Finance Loop and Venturebloxx published the report Stablecoins: The Operating Layer for Global B2B Payments on stablecoins in cross-border corridors and treasury. At Capital & Code in Frankfurt, hosted by AllUnity with Finance Loop as media partner, Mastercard, AllUnity, Worldline and PayPal discuss the future of payments. Finance Loop also partnered with the London Blockchain Finance Summit at Canary Wharf on stablecoins and tokenized cash in payments and treasury, and with CONF3RENCE in Dortmund, where stablecoins and digital payments are one of four topic areas. Related pages: payments in Germany, euro stablecoins and Circle.

A stablecoin moves directly between two parties on a blockchain, so it skips the chain of correspondent banks a cross-border bank transfer normally passes through. Settlement finishes once the blockchain confirms the transaction, typically within minutes, while a correspondent banking route usually needs one or more business days to complete.

A euro or dollar stablecoin used for payments falls under MiCA as an e-money token, with its own authorization, reserve and redemption rules. The EU's Transfer of Funds Regulation also applies the travel rule to crypto-asset transfers, so a licensed crypto-asset service provider must collect and pass on sender and recipient information the same way a bank does.

A growing number do. Visa and Mastercard have both built stablecoin settlement into their existing networks, and German banks including Deutsche Bank have applied for MiCA licenses that cover stablecoin custody and transfers alongside bitcoin and ether.