FIS, Circle Team Up to Offer USDC Acceptance

FinTech FIS announced Wednesday (April 6) that its Worldpay business will be the first global merchant acquirer to give merchants the ability to receive settlements in USD Coin (USDC).

To make this happen, FIS is working with Circle, a FinTech that is the sole issuer of USDC. The company said in a news release that this partnership will help crypto-native and traditional businesses build settlement and treasury strategies that mesh with their preferred currency for conducting business.

“Companies will no longer be constrained by payment service providers offering a fiat-only ecosystem and can instead leverage an innovative adoption of crypto payment rails to directly receive, hold, and transfer stablecoins in a fast and efficient manner,” FIS said. “Crypto.com, the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform, will act as a pilot customer for the USDC settlement proposition offered by Worldpay.”

The company adds that the ability to receive a settlement in stablecoins can help merchants drive the adoption of digital assets by letting them enter and experiment with cryptocurrency in a less volatile and lower-touch space.

According to Nabil Manji, Worldpay’s senior vice president in charge of crypto and Web3, cryptocurrencies tend to be volatile and lack the ability to be redeemed in large quantities at a predictable exchange rate.

That’s what makes USDC so appealing for consumers and merchants using crypto exchanges, he said, adding that “by making it easier and more efficient for crypto-native companies and other corporates to receive and manage stablecoins, this will further drive corporate innovation in payments and benefit the consumer ecosystem.”

Last month, Worldpay teamed up with blockchain-based digital identity company Shyft Network in an effort to help merchants comply with cryptocurrency-related regulations aimed at fostering a secure transaction ecosystem.

See also: FIS Partners With Shyft Network for Improved Crypto Reg Compliance

Worldpay’s partnership with Shyft Network “will enable Worldpay merchants to utilize Shyft’s Veriscope solution to meet multi-jurisdictional requirements set out by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Travel Rule,” the company said, which “targets the anonymity of cryptocurrency transfers and aims to fight money laundering and other financial crime in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”