LuLu lowers settlement costs 30% with Circle USDC

LuLu Financial Holdings has reduced cross-border settlement costs by 25% to 30% following its adoption of Circle's USDC stablecoin and Circle Mint platform for remittance flows across the Gulf, Middle East, North Africa, and Asia-Pacific. The payments group also experienced a 40% increase in cross-border settlement volume after integrating part of its treasury and settlement infrastructure with USDC.

Beneficiaries are credited within a minute after settlement completion, operating 24/7 compared to correspondent-banking hours. Circle reported these results in a case study following an August 26 announcement. The system allows LuLu Financial to move US dollar liquidity through blockchain-based settlements without renouncing dollar denomination.

Dollars are deposited into a Circle Mint account, converted to USDC, and transferred to partner wallets for cross-border settlement. USD can be redeemed into fiat currency through supported banking and payout channels. LuLu's infrastructure manages payment activity across Gulf Cooperation Council markets, the wider Middle East and North Africa, and Asia-Pacific, addressing liquidity management outside conventional banking windows.

Joseph Cleetus, head of business transformation at LuLu Financial Holdings, stated that this issue affected payment speed, efficiency, and liquidity movement. LuLu reports 100% settlement-amount accuracy and conversion success. The shift consolidated wallet, settlement, and blockchain operations previously involving multiple providers.

USDC is backed by highly liquid dollar-denominated assets and is redeemable one-for-one for dollars. Circle's settlement model does not eliminate the banking system entirely, as fiat redemptions still rely on supported banking rails during US business hours.