Payment orchestration platform pairs stablecoin with traditional rails
ACI Worldwide and Circle announced a pilot program on October 27, 2026, pairing ACI’s Connetic payment orchestration platform with Circle’s USDC stablecoin infrastructure to demonstrate how digital asset settlement can operate alongside existing payment operations in Colombia.
Connetic is a cloud-native platform that combines traditional payment types, digital assets, and card payments. The pilot places USDC settlement within the same operational environment as conventional payment rails rather than replacing them, allowing financial institutions to evaluate how stablecoin infrastructure fits into existing treasury operations, governance frameworks, and settlement processes.
Craig Ramsey, ACI’s global head of account-to-account payments, said: “Financial institutions want to understand how digital asset settlement can fit into the infrastructure and operating models they already trust.” The statement reflects the pilot’s positioning as a test of integration rather than a wholesale migration.
Circle markets USDC as fully reserved and redeemable one-for-one for US dollars. The stablecoin issuer describes its payments as low cost and capable of settling in seconds. Circle Mint, which allows eligible institutions to redeem USDC directly for dollars, exists as a direct redemption service, though individuals and small businesses cannot access it. Express redemption surcharges on USDC carry a 0.05% fee.
The announcement does not name participating Colombian financial institutions, specify transaction volumes for the pilot phase, or provide a timeline for broader rollout. ACI and Circle did not disclose measured settlement-time or cost comparisons between USDC and traditional payment rails.
