Circle Payments Network (CPN) is rolling out a series of new features and updates that further strengthen the network for financial institutions and enterprises to facilitate third-party fiat payouts powered by stablecoins. The release highlights new corridors, a self-service Console, plus new product features and the introduction of value-added service providers. We’re also showcasing a few upcoming innovations, including new onchain capabilities and native integration with Circle’s recently announced Layer-1 blockchain, Arc.
Since launching Circle Payments Network (CPN)1 in May 2025, we’ve been busy expanding and improving the network for banks, payment service providers (PSPs), virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and enterprises to move money efficiently and securely around the world with stablecoin-powered settlement. Below, we cover latest developments, new partners, and a look into the future of CPN.
What’s new in CPN
Corridor expansion
A key value proposition of CPN is the ability to deliver funds in local currency around the world through a single API and agreement. We’ve been partnering with Beneficiary Financial Institutions (BFIs) to continuously expand the CPN payout markets for global stablecoin-powered money movement.
Since launch, we’ve added support for local currency (fiat) payouts in Brazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and parts of Latin America through BFIs like Alfred, TazaPay, and Yellow Card. Potential future markets include EEA, India, the Philippines, Singapore, and the UAE, which would help expand seamless global payments across key corridors.
CPN product updates
As CPN continues to expand into new geographies and welcomes new partners, we consistently develop new capabilities to enhance network efficiency, information flow, and provide better controls for financial institutions to comply with their regulatory requirements. Here are new features now available on CPN:
- CPN Console: CPN Console is a self-service interface designed to streamline onboarding and technical integration into a single, unified experience. By consolidating account management, eligibility reviews, and technical setup, CPN Console shortens time to go-live and reduces the need for manual coordination. Over time, CPN Console is expected to expand to include reporting dashboards, support ticketing, operational preference management, and more — making it the central hub for engaging with CPN.
- Travel Rule pre-check requirements: Programmatically determine the exact data requirements for any given geography or BFI before sending a transaction, helping to reduce the likelihood of error before a payment is sent.
- Automated payment reversals: Return funds automatically via a dedicated API endpoint in scenarios that require a reversal. This streamlines exception handling and reduces manual back-and-forth in the reversal process.
- API-driven requests for more information (RFIs): The RFI loop (e.g., when BFIs require additional details about a sender) has been fully automated, helping to maintain timely transaction execution even when extra information is needed.
What’s coming next to CPN
Arf and Huma plan to join CPN as a service provider
One of CPN’s design principles is to have an open network that welcomes partners to improve network value for all participants. Arf — a Swiss-regulated pioneer in same-day USDC settlement liquidity, powered by Huma’s PayFi network — is planning to join CPN as a service provider to bring embedded credit to the network. Arf intends to enable access to USDC credit, removing the need for prefunding where stablecoin access is limited by geography or region.
This will mark the start of a broader effort to bring service providers into CPN to enhance the network experience and offer new tools such as credit, liquidity, custody, fraud management, reconciliation, and more. These services will help network partners move money faster, reduce costs, and grow with less complexity.
Bringing programmability to CPN
At Circle, we see a future where we can combine the programmability of stablecoins with the compliance tooling of traditional finance to unlock previously impossible financial use cases.
CPN is constantly evolving, and we expect future innovations to move more of the end-to-end payment flow onchain, using smart contracts that automatically and programmatically complete transactions once necessary conditions are met, streamlining payment operations end to end. This shift to onchain payments will both improve efficiency and enable powerful new capabilities, including:
- Programmable business logic at the protocol layer: Onchain settlement can enable advanced workflows (like escrow, fee routing, or additional approvals) to run automatically within the payment process, without external systems or manual reconciliation and intervention.
- Interoperability through chain-agnostic settlement: Senders and receivers can send real-time transfers near-instantly across different supported blockchains.
- Automatic enforcement of payment conditions: Smart contracts will verify parameters like amount, recipient, and expiry before executing transactions, reducing counterparty risk because transactions are either completed accurately and near-instantly or not at all.
Native Arc integration
Finally, we recently announced Arc2, an open Layer-1 blockchain designed for the next era of stablecoin-native applications. CPN plans to provide native support for Arc so network partners can benefit from purpose-built features for payments, including:
- USDC as native gas: Low, predictable, dollar-denominated fees — no volatile crypto required
- Built-in FX engine: Institutional-grade RFQ for price discovery and 24/7 PvP onchain settlement
- Instant finality: Deterministic sub-second settlement powered by Malachite, a high-performance consensus engine
- Opt-in privacy: Selectively shielded balances and transactions to help meet financial institution and enterprise compliance obligations.
Join the network
We're just getting started with CPN and excited to continue building this network with all our current and future partners. To join the network, visit us at circle.com/cpn.
1Circle Technology Services, LLC (CTS) is the operator of Circle Payments Network (CPN) and offers products and services to financial institutions that participate in CPN to facilitate their CPN access and integration. CPN connects participating financial institutions around the world, with CTS serving as the technology service provider to participating financial institutions. While CTS does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable the global ecosystem of participating financial institutions to connect directly with each other, communicate securely, and settle directly with each other. CTS is not a party to transactions between participating financial institutions facilitated by CPN who use CPN to execute transactions at their own risk. Use of CPN is subject to the CPN Rules and the CPN Participation Agreement between CTS and a participating financial institution.
2Arc is offered by Circle Technology Services, LLC (“CTS”). CTS is a software provider and does not provide regulated financial or advisory services. You are solely responsible for services you provide to users, including obtaining any necessary licenses or approvals and otherwise complying with applicable laws. Arc has not been reviewed or approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The product features described in these materials are for informational purposes only. All product features may be modified, delayed, or cancelled without prior notice, at any time and at the sole discretion of Circle Technology Services, LLC. Nothing herein constitutes a commitment, warranty, guarantee or investment advice.
