Circle, a global FinTech firm, has announced the launch of Circle Payments Network (CPN), a new initiative designed to connect a wide range of financial institutions and enable real-time cross-border payments through regulated digital assets.

The launch of CPN comes in response to ongoing challenges in cross-border payments. Despite technological advances, such transactions still frequently take over one business day and cost more than 6%, according to the World Bank.

These inefficiencies, driven by intermediary layers, compliance requirements, and jurisdictional fragmentation, have particularly impacted emerging markets. Circle aims to provide a streamlined and modern alternative.

CPN is designed to modernise the fragmented cross-border payment landscape by allowing financial institutions to move money globally with internet-level speed, transparency, and programmability. It supports real-time settlements and ensures regulatory compliance through a governance framework requiring licensing, AML/CFT compliance, cybersecurity protocols, and risk management standards.

CPN supports a broad spectrum of financial use cases, from supplier payments and remittances to treasury operations and capital markets settlement. It is built on smart contract infrastructure and modular APIs, allowing third-party developers to create advanced financial modules, services, and workflows atop the network.

To ensure CPN meets high standards for operational integrity, Circle has partnered with leading global banks including Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered. These institutions are helping shape the network to meet the demands of complex global payment systems.

A wide array of design partners, including Alfred Pay, BCB Group, Flutterwave, Coins.ph, Zodia Markets, and more, are already working with Circle to build out CPN. Additionally, digital asset infrastructure providers such as Fireblocks are integrating with CPN to broaden institutional access to secure, efficient payment capabilities.

Circle co-founder, chairman, and CEO Jeremy Allaire said, “Since our founding, Circle’s vision has been to make moving money as simple and efficient as sending an email. CPN is a significant step in making that vision a reality for businesses worldwide.”

Standard Chartered Bank global head of transaction banking Michael Spiegel said, “Standard Chartered is continuously looking for opportunities to make cross-border payments more efficient, secure, and compliant to various regulatory requirements, globally. Circle’s compliance-first approach to building products like CPN is a game changer for how money moves across borders, and we are pleased to build on our partnership and offer them our global expertise to support the success of CPN.”

Circle chief product and technology officer Nikhil Chandhok said, “Circle Payments Network is a foundational layer for the always-on economy — enabling trusted institutions to move value across borders, instantly. With programmable infrastructure at its core, CPN makes it possible to embed value transfer into modern financial applications in ways that weren’t feasible before.”