Circle and Nomura Holdings are planning to launch a USDC-based business payment and digital asset settlement service in Japan, which will land as early as 2027. The two companies would like to reduce the time for cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlement of enterprises from days to minutes through block chains.
Foreign exchange for enterprises and cross-border payments
According to both parties, the service would allow Japanese enterprises to convert the Japanese yen to USDC for cross-border vendor payments, transfers between overseas subsidiaries and foreign exchange settlements. The target clients mainly cover the import, export and foreign exchange requirements of Japan.
According to BIS data, as of 2025, the Japanese foreign exchange market had a daily average of approximately $44 billion. It usually takes two to three working days to complete the liquidation of traditional bank wire transfers, and the master of the block-chain settlement programme is more efficient in terms of entry.
Japanese rules adjusted to push down.
This cooperation was based on an update of Japan ' s payment rules. The Financial Services Agency of Japan has approved USDC for use in the local business landscape, making it the first global United States dollar-stable currency to be granted access to Japanese enterprises.
Circe will operate the network through the Japanese subsidiary Circe Japan. The company had previously cooperated with SBI Holdings for local distribution. This time, in collaboration with Nomura, the service was further advanced to the business payment and settlement chain.
Nomura is responsible for access and compliance.
In accordance with the division of labour, Nomura will be responsible for the import, monitoring and compliance of Japanese clients and their interface with existing banking systems. In the coming year, the parties will also continue to improve infrastructure, hosting arrangements and bank integration in preparation for its official launch in 2027.
In terms of operational positioning, this cooperation is aimed at traditional business payment and foreign exchange settlement processes, rather than retail trading scenarios. For Circe, Japan is an important market for USDC to promote compliance in Asia; for Nomura, it is another step in bringing digital asset services into the existing financial system.