Nium launches USDC funding, letting businesses put stablecoin balances to work and free up trapped liquidity. Businesses can now fund their Nium account in USDC and pay out in fiat across 190+ countries, turning idle stablecoin into working capital, with no new integration required SAN FRANCISCO, August 27, 2026 - Nium, the global infrastructure leader for real-time cross-border payments, today announced the launch of USDC funding, enabling businesses to fund their Nium account in USDC and pay out in fiat anywhere in the world. The capability extends Nium's existing payout network to businesses holding stablecoins, giving them a way to put any USDC balance to productive use without adopting separate crypto workflows. For years, moving money across borders has meant a familiar trade-off: pre-fund accounts in every market you operate in, or accept the delays of correspondent banking. Capital sits idle in nostro accounts for days at a time, waiting to be paid out. Businesses that already hold stablecoins have faced a separate problem: no clean way to convert those balances into usable funds that can be used in the everyday economy. Nium's USDC funding answers both problems at once. Businesses deposit USDC into their Nium account; funds are converted to USD and credited automatically, ready for local payout through the same infrastructure Nium clients already use to pay in 190+ countries. There is no separate crypto platform to stand up and no digital assets to manage - funding in USDC works the same way as funding in any other currency on Nium's platform. "Every business we talk to is sitting on the same problem in a different wrapper - they either have capital trapped in pre-funded accounts or stablecoin balances with nowhere useful to go," said Kuberan (Kube) Marimuthu, VP of Digital Assets at Nium. "Our USDC funding solves both at once. We put idle money, whether it is fiat or stablecoin, to work and we do it on the same robust infrastructure businesses already trust." The launch builds on Nium's broader digital asset strategy, following the company's earlier announcement enabling stablecoin-backed card issuance. Nium works with leading, regulated global stablecoin and digital-finance infrastructure providers to handle the receipt and conversion of stablecoin behind the scenes when powering USDC funding for Nium clients. Clients never need to manage a crypto wallet or private keys. For businesses making high-volume cross-border payouts - payroll and contractor platforms, marketplaces settling with global sellers, and fintechs managing dozens of payout corridors - the impact is immediate. Capital once locked in pre-funded accounts can instead be held centrally and moved just-in-time - funding payouts in seconds. For businesses already holding USDC, the balance no longer has to sit idle waiting for a manual off-ramp - it can fund global payouts directly. USDC funding is available now to eligible corporate clients. There is no new integration for existing clients of Nium. "Businesses have been told to choose between the speed of stablecoins and the reach of traditional rails," said Marimuthu. "We're proving that the two aren't mutually exclusive. With Nium stablecoin funding, our customers are getting the best of both worlds."

The travel 'nightmare' that's luring payment tech developers. New virtual card and AI tools are simplifying business payments and shifting how credit is issued at the point of sale. Curated by Financing Your Way from original reporting by American Banker - Top News. Summary is AI-assisted and editorially reviewed - see its editorial standards. The travel industry is seeing a massive push toward virtual cards and automated payment technology. This shift is designed to fix the 'nightmare' of fragmented booking and expense management. For business owners and retailers, this means a smoother bridge between purchasing and financing. Companies like Nium and American Express GBT are rolling out tools that automate complex payment workflows. This isn't just about moving money; it's about 'agentic commerce' where software handles the logic of payments based on specific business rules. For operators, this trend signals a move toward more integrated financing at the point of purchase. Virtual cards allow for instant credit issuance with strict controls. This reduces the risk of fraud and overspending compared to traditional corporate cards. If you deal with business-to-business sales or high-ticket service bookings, keep an eye on these virtual card rails. They are quickly becoming the preferred way for clients to pay and manage their budgets in real-time. The technology is moving away from manual invoicing toward instant, digital-first credit solutions that work globally. Who else is covering this

Visa and Nium launch 7-day stablecoin pilot under Singapore's BLOOM. What to know: * Visa and Nium will test seven-day stablecoin settlement under Singapore's BLOOM pilot. * The pilot covers dollar- and euro-backed stablecoins on weekends and public holidays. * BLOOM connects stablecoin rails with existing payment security and compliance controls. Visa has joined Singapore's BLOOM initiative and selected Nium for its first pilot under the program. The companies will test seven-day cross-border settlement with regulated stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars and euros across payment flows. As per a report, the Monetary Authority of Singapore leads BLOOM. It will examine how financial institutions can connect traditional payment systems with stablecoin rails during periods when ordinary bank settlement is unavailable. Existing security and compliance controls will remain part of the process. Why is Visa testing stablecoin settlement with Nium? Nium will become Visa's first partner in this setup. Visa and Nium will test if the stablecoins can be used to settle payment obligations during the weekend and public holidays. This test will include the settlement of payments during the entire week, including days when banks are closed. The test will study whether regulated stablecoins will solve such delays and how fast institutions can access settled payments. The scope of the initial project is focused on stablecoins that are backed by the dollar and the euro. Neither company disclosed what stablecoins would be tested. The project is going to focus on the process of settlement rather than on how customers would start their payments. Visa stated that the stablecoins would increase the programmability of payment flows and assist institutions with managing settlements out of banking hours. How does BLOOM link payments and stablecoins? Adeline Kim, Visa regional Southeast Asia Group Country Manager of Visa and senior vice president of Global Clients and Acquirers in Asia Pacific, said that different types of money would require interconnectivity among different payment networks. "The future of payments will be shaped by how different forms of money and payment networks work together for different use cases," Kim added. The pilot project is the integration of a global card network and cross-border payment platform in BLOOM. It aims at ensuring interoperability between legacy financial systems and the stablecoin settlement system. BLOOM was launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in 2025. The BLOOM project deals with payment systems using tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. As reported earlier, BLOOM also covers multi-currency settlement, corporate treasury, trade finance, and automated payments. Earlier participants included Circle, DBS, OCBC, Partior, Stripe, and UOB. Another BLOOM test was announced in March. Ripple and supply-chain finance company Unloq used RLUSD on the XRP Ledger. Their system connected settlement with shipment verification and financing conditions. What supports Visa's stablecoin settlement strategy? Visa has previously expanded its stablecoin and currency capabilities. These include handling of assets like USDC and euro-based EURC through their settlement platform. They have also added blockchain platforms to address institutional settlement requirements. Visa's Chief Executive Ryan McInerney talked about this strategy during the firm's July fiscal third-quarter earnings call of the firm. He called the strategy "multi-coin, multi-chain." McInerney noted that the company would not favor any particular stablecoin as a winner. Visa registered a net revenue of $11.63 billion for the quarter. Their payment volume and transaction volume each grew by 10% compared to the last year. Cross-border volume grew by 13% during the same reporting period. The pilot will aim at continuous settlement with control mechanisms intact. The test will look into the connectivity of stablecoins' rails to the existing payment network. The test will cover cross-border settlements out of business hours throughout the week.