Circle brings USDC to SAP, software behind 84% of global trade

Stablecoins are increasingly finding their way into traditional business. Circle, the company behind the digital coins USDC and EURC, is working with fintech company Tereina to enable payments with stablecoins within SAP's financial software. This may allow international companies to transfer money faster and cheaper, without replacing their existing systems.

Many large enterprises use SAP software to manage their finances, accounting, and payments. Circle and Tereina want to connect stablecoins directly to those existing processes.

These are USD Coin (USDC), a digital currency linked to the US dollar, and EURC, Circle's euro tablecoin. Both coins are designed to maintain a stable value, unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).

This can be particularly beneficial for international payments. Companies that transfer money abroad are now often dependent on banks and other intermediaries. As a result, transactions can take several business days and incur additional costs.

With stablecoins, payments can be processed via a blockchain. This can speed up the processing and reduce the number of parties involved.

The collaboration does not only focus on sending money. The processing of payments in business administration also plays an important role. It is precisely this connection to existing accounting systems that should make stablecoins more useful for large companies.

The choice for SAP is striking because of the huge scale at which the software company operates. According to a commonly used estimate, about 84 percent of global trade touches SAP systems in some way.

That does not mean that all those trade flows will soon pass through USDC or EURC. However, it shows how big the potential market is if companies can use stablecoins directly from their trusted financial software.

Tereina plays an important role in this. The fintech company is working on the connection between Circle's technology and the financial processes within SAP. As a result, companies do not have to completely switch to new payment software to be able to work with digital dollars or euros.

The first field tests with customers are scheduled for the coming months. This should clarify how the technology functions within existing business processes and which benefits are actually achievable.

For Circle, the collaboration is a new attempt to bring stablecoins further than the crypto market. USDC is already used for trading and transactions with digital assets, but business payments can become a much larger application.

The collaboration with Tereina fits in with Circle's broader strategy. The company is also developing arc, its own blockchain specifically focused on financial applications and payments.

According to the information provided, arc's main network went live less than a month ago. On the network, USDC is used to pay transaction fees and support is provided for more than twenty stablecoins.

With this, Circle wants to build an infrastructure on which companies can use digital currency for payments and other financial services.

However, large-scale implementation is not self-evident. Companies must take into account regulations, security, the reliability of the technology and the way transactions are processed administratively.

The practical tests must also show whether payments with stablecoins are actually faster and cheaper than existing solutions in daily business operations. The collaboration with Tereina is thus an important test for the question of whether digital dollars and euros can become a permanent fixture in international payment transactions.