Nium partners Coinbase for USDC cross-border payments

Nium has partnered with Coinbase to add USDC payments and settlement to its platform. The integration is now live for clients across Nium's cross-border payments network.

The partnership allows businesses to send and receive USDC, convert it into fiat currencies for payouts, and use a single platform for transactions across blockchain-based and traditional payment rails. Coinbase is providing the wallet, custody, liquidity and stablecoin payment infrastructure.

Available through Nium's network, which spans more than 190 countries and is supported by more than 40 licences, the product is aimed at banks, fintechs and multinational businesses. It is designed for companies that want to use stablecoins in day-to-day treasury and payment operations without building separate infrastructure for wallets, liquidity management and regulatory handling.

The move reflects a broader push by payments companies to turn stablecoins from a trading and crypto-market tool into a way to move money across borders. Nium is combining USDC with its existing fiat payout network so businesses can fund in stablecoins and settle either in USDC or local currency at payout.

Treasury use

One of the main use cases highlighted is cross-border payouts funded in USDC. This could help clients reduce reliance on prefunded accounts by shifting to just-in-time settlement, releasing capital that would otherwise be held across multiple markets to support payment flows.

The service also allows companies with stablecoin balances to launch USDC-backed card programmes. That would let businesses use those balances to spend via card networks at merchants that accept cards, linking digital asset holdings to more conventional payment use cases.

Nium has been expanding its stablecoin offering in stages. The Coinbase partnership follows its launch of a stablecoin card issuance platform, adding a payments and settlement layer to a broader effort to connect digital assets with mainstream financial infrastructure.

For Coinbase, the deal adds another institutional distribution channel for USDC-based payment services. It has been seeking to deepen the role of stablecoins in financial operations beyond crypto-native use cases, particularly where businesses need a bridge between digital-asset liquidity and fiat settlement systems.

"The future of money movement is multi-rail. Fiat and onchain infrastructure will increasingly work together, not in isolation," said Prajit Nanu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Nium. "This partnership with Coinbase makes that future operational today, giving our clients a single platform to send, receive and spend stablecoins at scale ahead of a fundamental shift in how money moves."

Industry interest in stablecoins has grown as payment groups, fintechs, and banks examine whether digital tokens tied to fiat currencies can reduce friction in international transfers and treasury management. Supporters argue that stablecoins can improve transfer speed and reduce settlement complexity, while critics continue to focus on regulatory, custody, and redemption risks, as well as dependence on a small number of issuers and infrastructure providers.

Nium handles the payment network layer and regulatory reach, while Coinbase provides the infrastructure required to hold, move and convert USDC. The structure is designed to spare clients the need to coordinate multiple providers for custody, wallets, liquidity, and payment processing.

The companies are pitching the product at institutions that want a practical route into stablecoin use rather than a standalone crypto service. By combining stablecoin balances with local payout mechanisms, the offering is intended to enable businesses to move between digital dollar holdings and conventional financial channels within a single operating environment.

Nium's network supports payouts in 100 currencies and reaches accounts, wallets and cards. It also collects funds locally in 40 markets and issues more than 38 million card tokens each year through its roles with Visa, Mastercard, Discover and UATP.

Coinbase, meanwhile, has been expanding its infrastructure business as it targets institutions that want access to digital asset services without the complexity of running the underlying systems. The Nium partnership places that strategy in a cross-border payments context, where settlement timing and trapped liquidity remain persistent issues for global businesses.

"Stablecoins are transforming how money moves globally, and Coinbase is committed to enabling their use at an institutional scale," said Alec Lovett, Head of Infrastructure Products at Coinbase. "By partnering with companies like Nium, we are extending stablecoin utility into real-world payment flows and helping institutions seamlessly connect digital asset liquidity with global fiat infrastructure."