- Circle has doubled down on its global expansion efforts.
- The stablecoin issuer introduced USDC in Brazil and Mexico.
- The move came nearly four months after Circle launched officially in Brazil.
Today, the USDC issuer Circle announced that the stablecoin will be available in Brazil and Mexico through integrations with leading banks in these countries.
The development followed Circle’s official expansion to Brazil on May 19, when it entered into a business tie-up with Nubank and BTG Pactual, the largest investment bank in Latin America. The stablecoin issuer said BTG Pactual would serve as its USDC distribution partner in Brazil.
Accessing USDC in Brazil and Mexico
According to a press release on September 17, Brazilians and Mexicans can now access USDC locally via national real-time payment systems PIX and SPEI, eliminating the hassle and costs of international wires when buying the stablecoin.
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“Circle offers access to USDC directly from Brazilian Reais (BRL) and Mexican Pesos (MXN), thereby avoiding the necessity of having to convert local fiat currency to USD before accessing USDC. This allows businesses to save on cost and benefit from the use of digital dollars in their operations,” the statement read.
Circle said that integrating USDC into local central bank payment systems made the stablecoin “more attractive” for businesses in the Latin American market, where cross-border transfers are mainly denominated.
For context, Mexico exchanges over $800 billion in annual goods and services trade with the U.S., while 95% of Brazil’s $640 billion in annual foreign trade in goods takes place in dollars. Per Circle, stablecoins like USDC are relatively more cost-effective than traditional remittances when facilitating these trades.
Stay updated on Circle’s choice for its HQ:
Circle Plants Its Flag in NYC for New HQ Ahead of Planned IPO
Read about BBVA’s move to add USDC to its crypto offerings:
BBVA Adds Circle’s USDC Offering to Its Crypto Service in Switzerland
