Circle and ACI Worldwide have officially announced a proof-of-concept partnership for USDC stablecoin settlement across Colombia’s banking sector. The pilot project pairs Circle’s digital dollar infrastructure with ACI Connetic, a cloud-native transaction platform that bridges conventional payment rails, cards, and digital assets. Through this integration, commercial banks can test stablecoin-based settlement without overhauling their existing core information technology systems, leveraging the readiness of already active banking networks.
Why Colombia Was Chosen as the Starting Point
Colombia was selected as the initial pilot market due to ACI’s strategic foothold in the country’s national payment architecture. ACI serves as the core infrastructure developer for Bre-B, the national instant payment network built alongside Colombia’s central bank, Banco de la República. The reliability of this instant payment network has been proven in practice, processing over 500 million transactions in its first five months alone.
Within the Bre-B ecosystem, ACI powers the addressing directory, 24/7 clearing and settlement engines, and interoperability across financial institutions. Craig Ramsey, Head of Account-to-Account Payments at ACI Worldwide, noted that this infrastructure readiness is critical for banks looking to engage with digital assets. “Banks today need a practical way to adopt digital assets through infrastructure they have long trusted,” Ramsey said.
Scope of the Technical Exploration
The initiative is designed to allow commercial banks to test digital dollar-based settlements for corporate disbursements, cash management (treasury), and real-time transaction oversight. By routing trials directly through existing banking rails, financial institutions avoid the burden of rebuilding their computer architectures from scratch.
Despite collaborating with the developer of the national payment system, both companies clearly outlined the boundaries of the project. The current phase remains purely a technical exploration. No direct connection has been established between USDC and the Bre-B network, no participating banks have been finalized, and no launch date has been set for commercial transactions.
Direction of Emerging Market Expansion
Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer at Circle, emphasized that the initiative paves the way for stablecoin adoption across Latin America while maintaining interoperability with traditional financial systems. The rollout in Colombia aligns with Circle’s broader expansion roadmap targeting around 40 emerging markets, where Latin America is projected to generate the highest demand for digital dollars.
For commercial banks in Colombia, the trial offers a close-up opportunity to evaluate the reliability and efficiency of digital dollar settlement. The success of this technical phase will ultimately determine whether digital dollars can transition from an experimental instrument into an integral part of everyday banking services.
Reported by crypto.news.
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