Standard Chartered became the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to offer institutional clients the ability to mint and redeem USDC through its banking infrastructure.
Circle Internet Group, Inc., the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, announced a partnership with multinational financial group Standard Chartered. Under the partnership, the bank will integrate access to USDC minting and redemption into its infrastructure for institutional clients.
The initiative eliminates the need for Standard Chartered clients to interact directly with Circle. USDC support will be embedded into Standard Chartered’s institutional platform. The integration combines traditional banking, custody, and digital asset services into a unified infrastructure that meets the risk management, compliance, and governance standards expected of international financial institutions.
Initially, the service is available only to eligible institutional clients through Standard Chartered’s operations at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The bank plans to expand USDC support to additional markets as regulatory approvals are secured and local infrastructure becomes ready.
According to Roberto Hoornweg, CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Chartered, the initiative will enable financial institutions to use USDC for on-chain settlement, liquidity management, corporate treasury operations, and, eventually, payment use cases. Hoornweg also said the launch reflected growing demand from banks, financial institutions, and corporate clients for regulated infrastructure supporting digital asset activities.
Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer at Circle, said integrating USDC infrastructure into Standard Chartered’s global banking platform will expand institutional clients’ ability to use the stablecoin for corporate treasury operations while maintaining the compliance and risk management standards they expect.
Recently, institutional clients of BNY Mellon also gained access to the full range of USDC minting and redemption services through the bank’s infrastructure.
