Circle, the digital dollar USDC issuer, recently announced that USDC can now be traded in Brazil and Mexico through each country’s national real-time payment system, allowing local businesses and consumers to use USDC faster and cheaper.
USDC lands in Brazil and Mexico: improving transaction efficiency
Circle pointed out that traditional payment methods rely on third-party intermediaries in closed systems, whether face-to-face or cross-border transactions, which are often costly, slow and opaque. Circle’s new project integrates USDC into national real-time payment systems such as Brazil’s PIX and Mexico’s SPEI, allowing local businesses to directly deposit and withdraw digital dollars through local financial institutions without the need to transfer funds to overseas banks through international remittances. This greatly improves transaction efficiency.
Stablecoins bring business advantages to enterprises
Circle believes this change allows businesses in Brazil and Mexico to access USDC faster, from days to minutes, freeing up funds stranded due to delays in the settlement process.
Circle also offers the ability to exchange USDC directly from Brazilian Reals (BRL) and Mexican Pesos (MXN), eliminating the cumbersome steps and fees of converting local fiat currencies into U.S. dollars first. This has significant cost advantages for both daily operations and financial management.
The service is particularly attractive to Latin American businesses that frequently conduct cross-border transactions, especially since transactions in the region are mostly denominated in U.S. dollars. Mexico and the United States trade more than $800 billion annually, and about 95% of Brazil's $640 billion in foreign trade transactions are settled in U.S. dollars. This means there is huge demand potential for USDC in these markets.
Stablecoins help the largest remittance channel: the United States to Mexico
The U.S.-Mexico remittance corridor is the world's largest, with remittances totaling $63 billion in 2023 and accounting for 4% of Mexico's GDP. Compared with traditional remittance methods, stablecoins have lower handling fees and can save about 6.35% of costs on average, making them more attractive to both individuals and businesses.
The real application of blockchain integrated into traditional finance
As the local use of USDC increases, more and more traditional financial institutions are beginning to explore the potential of blockchain technology. Circle predicts that more local banks and payment systems will integrate with USDC in the future, promoting the further integration of blockchain technology with traditional finance, allowing more people and businesses to understand and accept this new payment method.
This article Circle expands USDC to Brazil and Mexico, using national payment systems to localize digital dollars. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.
