ClearBank, a crypto-friendly neobank and regulated provider of faster payments in the UK, plans to join the Circle Payments Network (CPN), linking its cloud-native banking platform with Circle’s blockchain-based infrastructure to accelerate cross-border payments and provide access to regulated stablecoins.
The move follows a new strategic agreement between the UK-founded clearing bank and Circle Internet Group, the company behind stablecoins USDC and EURC. ClearBank will become one of the first European banks to integrate CPN, enabling customers to transfer funds globally at near-instant speed while maintaining regulatory transparency, according to a press release.
This is an interesting move as ClearBank has reportedly been looking to bring its own stablecoin to the table. However, reading between the lines, dealing with entities like the Bank of England has not been an easy task.
There’s a lot going on when it comes to the use case of stablecoins for payments. Since Circle launched its CPN in April this year, the company’s primary revenue sharing partner, Coinbase, has joined the party with a stablecoin-based payment offering.
The ClearBank collaboration focuses on expanding access to Circle Mint, a platform that allows financial institutions to mint and redeem USDC and EURC. Both tokens are fully reserved and designed to comply with the new European Crypto-Asset Markets (MiCA) regulations.
ClearBank said it will also explore new use cases with Circle, including stablecoin-based treasury services and tokenized asset settlements. These developments could make routine financial transactions, such as business payments or international remittances, faster and less expensive by reducing reliance on traditional banking channels.
ClearBank CEO Mark Fairless called the partnership a “milestone” in the company’s efforts to modernize cross-border finance, while Sanja Kon, Circle’s vice president for EMEA partnerships, said the collaboration would expand access to “open and programmable money” in the European financial system.
