ACI Worldwide and Circle Internet Group are setting out to show financial institutions how USDC settlement can be integrated into the payment operations they run today. The vehicle is a Colombian pilot through ACI Connetic, announced on October 27, 2026.
The release describes a collaboration to show how this can work. It does not describe a commercial launch. It names no participating financial institution and gives no transaction volumes, no start date and no fee terms. It also does not mention any Colombian authority.
Colombia is where ACI built the central infrastructure powering Bre-B, which the release calls the country’s “interoperable instant payments ecosystem.” The initiative explores how stablecoins such as USDC can complement that existing infrastructure.
The engine is ACI Connetic, which the companies say brings traditional payment types, digital assets and card payments onto one platform. The initiative pairs it with Circle’s USDC infrastructure so institutions can evaluate new settlement models within familiar operating environments.
The companies’ case is that the focus has shifted from the underlying technology toward practical implementation. Institutions, the release says, need to understand how digital dollars can work alongside existing payment rails, treasury operations, governance frameworks and settlement processes.
“The conversation around stablecoins is moving from possibility to practicality,” said Craig Ramsey, global head of account-to-account payments at ACI Worldwide. “Financial institutions want to understand how digital asset settlement can fit into the infrastructure and operating models they already trust. Through ACI Connetic, we’re demonstrating a practical approach to integrating regulated stablecoins into existing payment workflows.”
Circle frames the demand as regional. “Financial institutions across Latin America are increasingly looking at how stablecoins can support the evolution of payments and settlement within the infrastructure they already use,” said Kash Razzaghi, chief commercial officer at Circle.
The arrangement is not exclusive to Circle. The release states that while the initiative uses USDC and Circle’s infrastructure, ACI Connetic supports other payment networks, digital asset providers and future settlement models through a single orchestration platform. USDC is issued by regulated affiliates of Circle.
Herald View
The value here sits with the orchestration layer, not the token. Circle supplies USDC, but ACI’s own release says Connetic is open to other digital asset providers. ACI also built the central infrastructure behind Bre-B, and it is positioning stablecoin settlement alongside it. Until a financial institution signs its name to this, it is a proposal, not a business.
