Circle integrates USDC in Brazil and Mexico via national payment systems News โธ Brazil · Mexico โธ USDC โธ Stablecoins
Circle integrates USDC in Brazil and Mexico via national payment systems
This movement will allow users to buy USDC directly using Brazilian Reais and Mexican Pesos, reducing conversion costs to U.S. dollars.
2 min read
Updated: Sep. 17, 2024 at 7:12 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Circle has enabled support for local bank transfers for USD Coin (USDC) in Brazil and Mexico through their national payment systems, PIX and SPEI, respectively, according to a Sept. 17 press release.
The integration will allow users to access USDC directly from Brazilian Reais (BRL) and Mexican Pesos (MXN) at competitive rates, reducing transaction times from days to minutes.
Moreover, the move eliminates the need for international wire transfers and conversions to US dollars before accessing USDC, potentially saving businesses time and money. Circle aims to make USDC more attractive to companies operating in Latin America, where cross-border flows are predominantly dollar-denominated.
Mexico is among the US’ largest trading partners, with over $800 billion in annual goods and services trade. In Brazil, 95% of the country’s $640 billion annual foreign trade in goods is conducted in dollars, with direct US-Brazil trade totaling approximately $120 billion yearly.
The US-to-Mexico remittance corridor is the world’s largest, reaching $63 billion in 2023, up 7% from 2022 and accounting for up to 4% of Mexican gross domestic product (GDP).
A big deal for Circle
Brazil and Mexico are the two largest economies in Latin America.
According to Statista data, Brazil’s GDP will be $2.3 trillion in 2024, while Mexicoโs will be $2 trillion. Notably, real-time electronic payments play a significant role in both countries.
Data from the Central Bank of Brazil reveals that over 29 billion transactions were made using PIX in the country from January to June 2024. This is roughly 7 billion over the number of transactions using credit and debit cards in the same period, according to a report by the Brazilian Association of Credit Card and Services Companies.
Meanwhile, despite showing a relatively small number, Mexicans made 3.8 billion real-time electronic transactions via SPEI in 2023. This is equivalent to 5.6% of all financial movements in the country last year, according to Statista and ACI Worldwide.
Additionally, Brazil and Mexico occupy the 10th and 14th spots, respectively, in terms of global crypto adoption, asย shown by a preview from Chainalysis’ “2024 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report.”
Mentioned in this article
Author 
Gino Matos
Gino Matos is a law school graduate and a seasoned journalist with six years of experience in the crypto industry. His expertise primarily focuses on the Brazilian blockchain ecosystem and developments in decentralized finance (DeFi).
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USD Coin (USDC) is a stablecoin fully backed by the US dollar and developed by the CENTRE consortium.
Circle
Circle Internet Financial Ltd is a global internet finance company, built on blockchain technology and powered by crypto assets.