UAE based Standard Chartered offers direct access to USDC
UAE based Standard Chartered, regulated and operating in DIFC, has launched a solution enabling institutional clients to directly access USDC minting and redemption, developed in partnership with Circle Internet Group, Inc. (Circle) (NYSE: CRCL), the issuer of USDC1 through its regulated entities.
As per the announcement, Standard Chartered became the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) licensed to offer institutional clients access to USDC minting and redemption through a single onboarding and service experience, without requiring clients to hold direct accounts with Circle.
Kash Razzaghi, Chief Commercial Officer, Circle, notes that financial institutions want trusted ways to access stablecoins and so the integration with Circle’s regulated stablecoin infrastructure helps clients such as Standard Bank to offer USDC across payments, settlement, and treasury while maintaining compliance, governance, and risk management standards.
Ofcourse speed of moving value between traditional and digital financial ecosystems is one benefit given it offers on-chain settlement, treasury and liquidity management. But in the future it will also support payment related use cases.
Standard Chartered considers itself one of the first G-SIB banks that will bring banking, custody and digital assets services under one integrated offering. This will be delivered through the risk management, compliance and governance standards expected of a leading international financial institution.
The offering will first be available to clients of Standard Chartered DIFC operations, and will then be expanded into other markets after acquiring regulatory approval.
Roberto Hoornweg, Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking, Standard Chartered noted that digital assets are becoming increasingly important component of global financial infrastructure and institutional clients are requesting the same levels of trust and governance that underpin traditional markets.
He adds, “With this launch, we are extending those standards into a rapidly evolving segment of the financial system. Ultimately, this is about enabling broader institutional participation in digital asset markets through the frameworks, controls and regulatory oversight that have long supported confidence in global financial markets.”
