Mastercard and Circle Expand Stablecoin Settlement Across EEMEA

Dubai — Mastercard and Circle are deepening their partnership to make stablecoin settlement a reality across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA). The initiative introduces USDC and EURC settlement for acquiring institutions, giving merchants across the region direct access to the efficiency of stablecoins through Mastercard’s trusted global network. (Cover photo: Kash Razzaghi, Chief Business Officer at Cirlce)

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This marks the first time acquirers in EEMEA can settle in stablecoins, setting a precedent for digital commerce across emerging markets. Arab Financial Services (AFS) and Eazy Financial Services will be the first partners to adopt the model, supporting merchants with faster, more liquid, and more efficient settlement.

From Crypto Cards to Merchant Settlement

Mastercard and Circle have already partnered in the region on crypto card programs like Bybit and S1LKPAY, where USDC underpins transaction settlement. Now, by extending the same capability to acquiring institutions, Mastercard is accelerating the transition from fiat settlement to tokenized money.
“Integrating stablecoins into mainstream financial infrastructure is central to our strategy. Our partnership with Circle allows us to bring trust, security, and scale to stablecoin settlement, while giving acquirers and merchants the tools to embrace the future of payments.”

Dimitrios Dosis, President of Mastercard EEMEA
Part of a Bigger Play

Mastercard’s stablecoin strategy already spans end-to-end payments, remittances, B2B transactions, and payouts to gig workers and creators through initiatives like Mastercard Move and the Multi-Token Network (MTN). The company also supports other regulated stablecoins including PayPal’s PYUSD, Paxos’ USDG, and Fiserv’s FIUSD.

Circle’s Chief Business Officer Kash Razzaghi emphasized the impact:
“Expanding USDC settlement across Mastercard’s vast acquirer network in EEMEA is a pivotal step toward borderless, real-time commerce. Together with Mastercard, we’re making USDC as usable and ubiquitous as traditional payments.”

Kash Razzaghi, Chief Business Officer at Cirlce
By embedding Crypto Credential and Crypto Secure into its infrastructure, Mastercard ensures that all stablecoin activity meets stringent security and compliance standards — a critical requirement for institutional adoption.

With the EEMEA region now live for USDC and EURC settlement, Mastercard and Circle are turning stablecoins from experimental tools into mainstream financial infrastructure.