Joy Agwunobi
Mastercard has announced an expansion of its partnership with Circle,a global financial technology firm, to enable settlement in USDC and EURC stablecoins for acquirers across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA).
The companies said the initiative will allow acquiring institutions in the region to receive settlements directly in USDC or EURC, fully reserved stablecoins issued by regulated affiliates of Circle. According to Mastercard, this marks the first time the acquiring ecosystem in EEMEA will be able to settle transactions in stablecoins.
Arab Financial Services and Bahrain-based Eazy Financial Services have been named as the first acquirers to benefit from the arrangement. Mastercard noted that the move is expected to support merchants in emerging markets by offering faster, more efficient, and trusted settlement options, building on earlier crypto-related collaborations with Circle, including card programmes such as Bybit and S1LKPAY.
Dimitrios Dosis, president for Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Mastercard, said the company views the development as an important step in integrating stablecoins into the global financial system.
“This is a key move for Mastercard,” he stated. “Our strategic goal is to integrate stablecoins into the financial mainstream by investing in the infrastructure, governance, and partnerships to support this exciting payment evolution from fiat to tokenised and programmable money.”
Kash Razzaghi,chief business officer at Circle, also welcomed the partnership’s expansion, describing it as a milestone for borderless payments. “Expanding USDC settlement across Mastercard’s vast network of acquirers in EEMEA is a pivotal step toward truly borderless, real-time commerce,” he said. “Our expanded partnership with Mastercard will enable wider reach, global access, and scaled impact so that USDC can become as ubiquitous as traditional payments.”
Mastercard explained that the move is part of its wider efforts to support stablecoin adoption globally. The company already enables end-to-end stablecoin payments and offers merchants the option of receiving settlements in stablecoins, regardless of the payment method used by consumers. In addition to USDC and EURC, Mastercard supports other regulated stablecoins, including Paxos’ USDG, Fiserv’s FIUSD, and PayPal’s PYUSD.
The company also highlighted its broader initiatives to drive regulated stablecoin use in cross-border remittances, business-to-business transactions, and payouts to gig workers and creators. These are being implemented through platforms such as Mastercard Move and its Multi-Token Network (MTN), supported by compliance tools including Crypto Credential and Crypto Secure.
According to Mastercard, the approach prioritises scalability, regulatory alignment, and practical utility as stablecoins continue to gain traction across the EEMEA region, positioning the company at the forefront of the evolving digital payments ecosystem.
