Singapore-based payments fintech Nium has selected Coinbase as its infrastructure partner to embed USDC stablecoin capabilities into its global cross-border payments network, enabling businesses to fund and settle transactions across more than 190 countries without maintaining prefunded accounts. The joint announcement confirmed the integration leverages Coinbase’s custody, liquidity and wallet services to support both stablecoin and local currency settlement through a single platform.
The partnership removes a longstanding friction point in cross-border finance. Instead of locking capital across multiple jurisdictions in advance, businesses using Nium’s network can now deploy funds at the moment of payout, a model the company describes as just-in-time settlement.
That shift has direct cost implications for companies running high-volume international payment corridors.
How the Integration Works in Practice
Under the arrangement, Nium customers can fund cross-border payouts in USDC and choose to settle in either stablecoins or local fiat currencies depending on the recipient’s market.
Coinbase handles the backend infrastructure for custody and liquidity, while Nium manages regulatory compliance and routing across its network, which spans more than 100 currencies and holds more than 40 regulatory licenses worldwide.
Nium’s network supports local collection in 40 markets and real-time payouts across more than 100 payment corridors. The company said the setup also allows businesses to link stablecoin balances directly to card programs, enabling cardholders to spend in local currencies with conversion handled at the point of sale.
That feature builds on Nium’s recently launched platform for issuing stablecoin-funded cards on both Visa and Mastercard networks.
The card-linked option adds a consumer-facing layer to what is otherwise a business-to-business infrastructure upgrade.
By connecting USDC balances to physical or virtual cards, Nium extends the practical reach of stablecoin liquidity into everyday retail spending without requiring end users to interact directly with blockchain infrastructure.
USDC Momentum and the Broader Stablecoin Race
The Coinbase integration arrives as USDC gains traction in institutional and cross-border payment contexts. According to data from DefiLlama, USDC holds a market capitalization of approximately $78 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin globally behind Tether’s USDT, which stands at roughly $188 billion.
The gap remains wide, but recent supply trends suggest a narrowing dynamic.
A CEX.IO report from earlier this month found that USDC’s circulating supply grew by around $2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, while USDT’s supply contracted by roughly $3 billion over the same period.
That divergence, the first of its kind since 2022, reflects a shift in institutional preference toward regulated, US-based stablecoin infrastructure as compliance requirements tighten in key markets.
Circle, which co-launched USDC with Coinbase in 2018, has been aggressively expanding the stablecoin’s footprint in cross-border settlement.
In March, Circle partnered with Sasai Fintech to extend USDC payments into African corridors targeting remittances, business transactions and mobile wallet top-ups, where fees in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa regularly exceed 7%, more than double the UN’s 3% target.
Earlier this month, Circle also joined forces with Thunes to deploy USDC-based liquidity across a payments network covering more than 140 countries.
Those deals, combined with the Nium-Coinbase partnership, form a pattern of stablecoin providers embedding USDC into established payment rails rather than building parallel infrastructure from scratch.
The strategy reduces adoption friction for corporate treasury teams and payment operators who already work within existing compliance and banking frameworks.
For Coinbase, the Nium deal represents a meaningful expansion of its infrastructure-as-a-service offering beyond retail crypto trading.
By providing custody and liquidity services to a regulated global payments network, Coinbase positions its institutional stack as core plumbing for the next generation of cross-border finance.
Nium, meanwhile, gains a credible on-ramp to stablecoin liquidity without building proprietary blockchain infrastructure, allowing it to compete more directly with Swift-based correspondent banking on speed and cost.
The combined network’s reach across 190 countries, 100-plus currencies and real-time payout corridors gives the partnership a scale that few stablecoin-native competitors can currently match.
Not Financial Advice: This article is for informational purposes only. Crypto investments are highly volatile. Always do your own research.
