Finastra, a major player in financial services software, has partnered with Circle (CRCL), the company behind the USDC stablecoin (USDC-USD), to bring faster and more efficient cross-border payments to banks. Indeed, this partnership will let banks use Finastra’s Global PAYplus platform to settle transactions using USDC, which is a fully backed and regulated digital dollar. Even if both ends of the payment are in fiat currency, the settlement can still happen through USDC, thereby giving banks a quicker and cheaper option for moving money internationally.
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It is worth noting that right now, many banks rely on long and complex correspondent banking chains for cross-border payments, which can cause delays and lead to extra costs. However, Finastra’s clients—who process more than $5 trillion in global transactions every day—can use Circle’s USDC infrastructure to settle payments almost instantly. At the same time, they can still meet compliance requirements and manage foreign exchange needs.
This setup helps banks avoid building entirely new systems for processing digital payments. Indeed, Finastra CEO Chris Walters said that the goal is to help banks become more modern by offering new tools that don’t force them to start from scratch. At the same time, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire added that Finastra’s wide reach makes it the perfect partner to expand the use of USDC in cross-border transactions.
Is CRCL Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on CRCL stock based on six Buys, six Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CRCL price target of $177.93 per share implies 38.7% upside potential.
