Circle and Nomura unveil plan for instant global USDC settlements

Circle and Nomura have disclosed plans to set up a corporate digital asset payment settlement service in Japan by 2027.

The joint venture will allow Japanese companies to convert their yen into USDC for cross-border transactions, foreign exchange settlements, and transfers between overseas affiliates.

The move follows Japan’s approval of USDC for corporate use and is intended to reduce settlement delays that currently take a few business days through traditional banking channels.

Circle and Nomura target faster corporate cross-border payments

Circle Internet Financial, the Boston-based stablecoin issuer, announced the partnership with Japan’s financial giant Nomura Holdings on Thursday. The agreement states that the companies will roll out the corporate settlement platform in Japan as early as 2027, once the required protocols and regulations are in place.

The service will allow businesses to convert Japanese yen into U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Circle’s USD Coin (USDC). The digital asset will be accessible to companies for cross-border payments to suppliers, for transferring the asset between overseas subsidiaries, and for settling foreign exchange transactions.

The project targets Japan’s import, export, and corporate foreign-exchange markets. According to data from the Bank for International Settlements, Japan’s foreign exchange market recorded an average daily trading volume of approximately $440 billion in 2025.

Japan’s regulatory approval supports the rollout

The announcement follows regulatory changes that expanded the use of stablecoins in Japan.

According to a CryptoPolitan report, Japan’s Financial Services Agency previously approved USDC under new payment regulations, making it the first recognized U.S. dollar stablecoin authorized for local corporate business.

Following this, the partnership will see Nomura responsible for client onboarding in Japan, managing regulatory compliance needs and bringing the settlement platform to the existing banking systems in the country.

Both firms will spend the year finalizing the banking integrations, strengthening the custody side, and wrapping up the final details of the operating structure in preparation for the planned launch.

In the proposed situation, a corporate customer will convert yen to USDC through the Nomura banking system, and the stablecoins will be transferred through a blockchain network. In a smart contract, these two transactions would then be bound together to complete both sides of the currency conversion process.

Circle already has requirements in place to accommodate this kind of community. Built on an open Layer-1 blockchain for stablecoin applications, its Arc blockchain also features a foreign exchange engine, StableFX, that allows for atomic payment-versus-payment swaps between pairs of stablecoins without the need for prefunding or bilateral credit arrangements.

According to Circle’s technical model, combining currency exchange into a single encrypted transaction bypasses the settlement window in traditional correspondent banking. This means that both the sale and the purchase are effected simultaneously, rather than at different times.

The Circle-Nomura partnership comes as more financial companies move into Japan’s regulated stablecoin market. The announcement came after SBI VC Trade launched Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, in Japan.

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