Clearbank, a crypto-friendly neobank and regulated provider of faster payments in the UK, plans to join the Circle Payments Network (CPN), connecting its cloud-native banking platform to 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-based clearing bank and Circle Internet Group, the company behind the USDC and EURUSD stablecoins. According to a press release, Clearbank will become one of the first European banks to integrate with CPN, allowing customers to transfer funds globally at instantaneous speeds while maintaining regulatory transparency.
This is an interesting move as Clearbank was reportedly considering introducing its own stablecoin. However, dealing with the likes of the Bank of England has not been easy.
There is a lot happening when it comes to stablecoins in terms of payment use cases. Since Circle launched its CPN in April this year, the company’s main revenue sharing partner, Coinbase, has joined the party with a stablecoin-powered payments offering.
The Clearbank collaboration is focused on expanding access to Circle Mint, a platform that enables financial institutions to mint and redeem USDC and EURUSD. Both tokens are fully reserved and designed to comply with Europe’s new markets in crypto-assets (MICA) regulation.
ClearBank said it will also explore new use cases with Circle, including stablecoin-based treasury services and tokenized asset settlement. These developments can make routine financial operations – such as corporate payments or international remittances – faster and cheaper by reducing reliance on traditional banking rails.
ClearBank CEO Mark Fairless called the partnership a “milestone” in the company’s efforts to modernize cross-border finance, while Sanja Kon, Circle K’s vice president for EMEA partnerships, said the collaboration would expand access to “open, programmable money” across Europe’s financial system.