[WDAF 2026] Circle sees stablecoins cutting cross-border payment risks

Stablecoins could transform cross-border payments by allowing money and payment instructions to move simultaneously, reducing settlement risks and helping companies manage cash more efficiently, a Circle executive said at the World Digital Assets Forum 2026 in Seoul on Monday.

David Katz, vice president of strategy and policy for Asia Pacific at Circle Internet Group, said conventional bank transfers often separate payment instructions from the actual movement of funds, creating delays and uncertainty over settlement.

"When you send a wire, the recipient gets a message that the value is coming," Katz said.

"With a stablecoin, the message and the value merge into one," he said, referring to Circle's USDC stablecoin, which is pegged to the US dollar.

"Credit risk diminishes massively," he said, adding that simultaneous transfers could help corporate treasurers manage liquidity and balance sheets more efficiently.

Katz pointed to Circle's partnership with the Bank of New York as evidence of growing cooperation between stablecoin issuers and established financial institutions.

BNY serves as a custodian of USDC reserves and began allowing clients to hold the stablecoin through its digital asset custody platform this year.

For Circle, the partnership provides access to the credibility and infrastructure of a long-established global custodian.

"People have been trusting BNY, the Bank of New York, as an amazing asset services bank and the world's largest custodial bank for decades," Katz said. "We're still pretty new."

Fabian Khoshbakht, BNY's head of APAC for global payments and trade, emphasized that security is fundamental to the institutional adoption of digital assets.

"Safekeeping is the basis and the foundation of almost everything that we talk about in this space," he said. "If it's not safe, then we're not where we need to be."

Khoshbakht also pushed back against the view that traditional cross-border payments are inherently slow, saying BNY can complete transfers in about 60 seconds or less.

"There's a little bit of a misconception about cross-border payments — that it takes time, that it's not fast enough," he said. "In a world of instant gratification, 60 seconds is pretty quick."

The contrasting views highlighted how stablecoin providers and established banks are approaching payment innovation from different perspectives, with Circle emphasizing settlement efficiency and BNY stressing the speed and safeguards already available through banking networks.

Turning to South Korea, Katz said financial institutions, technology platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges were preparing for a potential won-denominated stablecoin market even as the country works toward a regulatory framework.

"People aren't waiting," he said. "People are building the foundations to be absolutely ready for a regulated digital asset marketplace in Korea."