Circle Technology Services, an affiliate of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) and operator of the Circle Payments Network (CPN), announced a partnership on Wednesday with global real-time cross-border payments infrastructure platform Nium, aiming to connect stablecoin settlement with "last-mile" global payouts.

Nium will join the CPN as a global payout partner, providing financial institutions on the network with direct access to Nium's payout infrastructure across more than 190 countries and 100 currencies, the firms said in a statement shared with The Block.

The collaboration allows financial institutions to use USDC-powered settlement to route payments through the CPN network into Nium's payout infrastructure via a single integration, enabling delivery of local currency funds into accounts, wallets, and cards worldwide, per the statement. It helps avoid needing to manage fragmented providers and prefunding accounts across multiple corridors, the teams added.

"Traditional and onchain payment rails are converging, and that convergence demands infrastructure that banks, fintechs, and global enterprises can rely on at scale," Nium founder and CEO Prajit Nanu said. "By partnering with Circle and joining CPN, we are combining Circle's regulated settlement instrument with Nium's global payout reach to deliver a more seamless way for institutions to move money worldwide."

The Circle Payments Network manages $8.3 billion in annualized transaction volume based on the trailing 30-day activity as of Mar. 31, reflecting growing institutional adoption of USDC for global payments, Circle said.

"Financial institutions are increasingly looking for ways to use stablecoins to solve persistent payments pain points," Circle Chief Commercial Officer Kash Razzaghi said. "Through our partnership with Nium and their integration into Circle Payments Network, we are extending USDC from a settlement instrument into a complete payments flow, helping institutions move money globally with greater speed, transparency, and capital efficiency."