Winning this award for the second year in a row, Banking Circle is pursuing an ambitious strategy: building a global payments bank that allows financial institutions to move money across currencies, markets and, increasingly, digital asset networks without relying on fragmented banking infrastructure.
Its approach is different from that of traditional transaction banks. Rather than competing directly for corporate relationships, Banking Circle provides the regulated infrastructure on which banks, fintechs and payment service providers can build their own propositions. Its advantage lies in combining direct access to domestic clearing systems, multi-currency capabilities and emerging settlement technologies in a single platform.
“We are at a stage of real convergence within financial services,” says Morten Lilleøre, interim CEO. “AI, digital assets and real-time payments are transforming how financial services are built and delivered, while the boundaries between traditional and digital finance continue to blur.
“Banking Circle’s role is to provide the banking infrastructure that connects these worlds through actively pursuing global banking licences, combining direct access to payment systems, global reach and the strength of being a bank. Our ambition is to remove underlying complexity, so our clients can innovate faster, scale globally and focus on what comes next.”
In 2025, that ambition translated into significant expansion. Banking Circle acquired a licensed Australian bank, strengthened its clearing network and processed approximately 495 million payments. Its annual payment volumes exceeded €1 trillion, while its institutional client base surpassed 700 financial institutions.
Expanding the currency network
Banking Circle has also strengthened the breadth and depth of its international payments offering. Its platform supports 24 fiat currencies, combining multi-currency accounts, FX and cross-border settlement with direct access to an expanding range of domestic schemes.
During 2025, its instant clearing capabilities covered euros, sterling, Australian dollars, Danish kroner and Swedish kronor. The addition of direct access to Switzerland’s SIC system extended its local clearing and settlement capabilities to Swiss francs.
The future is not about choosing between traditional banking and digital assets, but about creating an increasingly connected and interoperable financial system where both can operate together
Morten Lilleøre
The distinction is not simply how many currencies a bank can process but how efficiently it can move funds in those currencies. Access to local clearing reduces dependence on lengthy correspondent chains, while instant schemes provide faster settlement and greater payment certainty.
Through Agency Banking, Banking Circle also allows eligible institutions to access domestic schemes while retaining their own BIC and IBAN identity. This enables clients to expand into new markets under their own brand without taking on the full cost of direct scheme participation.
Bringing digital assets into mainstream banking
Banking Circle’s next area of differentiation is digital assets. While many institutions are still exploring how stablecoins fit alongside traditional banking infrastructure, Banking Circle has begun integrating them into its existing settlement proposition.
“We believe the future is not about choosing between traditional banking and digital assets, but about creating an increasingly connected and interoperable financial system where both can operate together,” adds Lilleøre. “Banking Circle’s role is to provide the infrastructure that bridges these two worlds, allowing institutions to move seamlessly between fiat and digital assets with the trust, resilience and compliance they expect from a bank.”
Having launched its bank-backed euro stablecoin EURI in 2024, Banking Circle took another step in April 2026, securing a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the CSSF, and launching stablecoin settlement services. These services are provided by Banking Circle SA under its CSSF CASP licence.
The offering supports conversion between fiat currencies and stablecoins including USDC, USDG and EURI. Through BC-NOW, its multi-rail settlement network, institutional clients can move between conventional banking and blockchain networks using the same underlying platform and API.
Australia becomes a strategic anchor
One of Banking Circle’s most significant developments was its acquisition of Australian Settlements Limited, completed in August 2025. The acquisition gave Banking Circle an established Australian authorised deposit-taking institution, with domestic clearing expertise and settlement access through the Reserve Bank of Australia. It brought capabilities across Australia’s New Payments Platform, PayID, PayTo, BECS and BPAY into Banking Circle’s international infrastructure.
“ASL is now fully integrated as Banking Circle Australia, bringing together deep local expertise and an established financial institution client base with Banking Circle’s modern infrastructure and global network,” explains Lilleøre. “We can now support Australian financial institutions with their domestic banking and payment needs, including access to local payment rails, while also connecting them to global markets and helping international institutions enter the Australian market, all through a single, integrated Banking Circle experience.”
For Australian financial institutions, the combination creates access to both domestic and international payment capabilities. For global clients, it provides a route into Australian payment systems without requiring them to develop the same local infrastructure independently.
Scale behind the strategy
In 2025, the bank reported a 99.58% straight-through processing rate, including sanctions screening. During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period, it processed more than 4.1 million payments in a single day while maintaining client uptime above 99.9%.
Banking Circle is building more than a cross-border payments network. With strong local banking foundations, an expanding currency and clearing network and a forward-looking digital asset strategy, Banking Circle is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation in global payments.
