Mastercard and Circle have deepened their longstanding partnership to enable stablecoin-like USDC and EURC settlement for acquirers in the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.
In a statement on Wednesday, MasterCard said the expanded effort marks the first time that the acquiring ecosystem in EEMEA will be able to settle transactions in stablecoins.
This move will enable a connection between blockchain-native crypto assets and traditional fiat commerce infrastructure in the region. Arab Financial Services and Eazy Financial Services will be the first to benefit from this expanded effort.
“This is a key move for Mastercard. 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. Through our expanded partnership with Circle, we are taking bold steps in integrating its innovative use across our global network.
We know that trust is essential to scale, and we are proud to play a leading role by applying our decades of experience in security and compliance to the stablecoin space,” said President, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Mastercard, Dimitrios Dosis.
The Chief Business Officer at Circle, Kash Razzaghi, said, “Expanding USDC settlement across Mastercard’s vast network of acquirers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa is a pivotal step toward truly borderless, real-time commerce. Our expanded partnership with Mastercard will enable wider reach, global access, and scaled impact so that USDC can become as ubiquitous as traditional payments. Together with Mastercard, we are advancing the role of stablecoins as a foundational tool for everyday financial activity worldwide.
“As the first acquirer in the region to pioneer USDC stablecoin settlement, we are delivering a strategic and transformative solution. This innovation provides the future-ready infrastructure our clients need to stay competitive in an era of continuous market transformation. The new capability directly solves a key market need for greater liquidity and operational efficiency, significantly reducing the friction traditionally associated with high-volume settlements. Our partnerships with Mastercard and Circle are foundational to the offering, ensuring our clients can confidently embrace digital asset innovation within a framework of security and regulatory compliance,” said Chief Executive Officer of AFS, Samer Soliman.
