Circle Foundation explores stablecoin payments for humanitarian aid, providing grants to UNDP and World Food Programme

PANews reported on September 25 that the Circle Foundation announced two grants to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to explore the application of digital payments and digital financial infrastructure in humanitarian aid and development projects.

The Circle Foundation stated that the relevant programs will study how to use digital payments and regulated payment stablecoins to disburse funds to beneficiary groups faster, more transparently, and at lower cost.

For the UNDP, the grant will be used to establish and operate a "Digital Asset Innovation Pool," helping country offices scale digital payment pilots previously carried out in Syria, Haiti, Guatemala, and The Gambia from single projects into regular program execution, while providing regulatory, operational, and beneficiary protection support; this mechanism will not replace traditional banking channels but will serve as a supplementary option alongside existing payment systems. For the WFP, the grant will support its development of the governance, risk management, funding and reconciliation systems, and compliance tools needed for stablecoin payments, as well as the integration of local fintech and mobile payment services. Over the next three years, the WFP plans to test two to three payment corridors connecting its payment systems with local financial service providers and markets, to assess the performance of stablecoin payments in terms of efficiency, transparency, and resilience.