Banking Circle
Banking Circle is a Luxembourg-based bank that provides accounts and payment infrastructure to regulated financial institutions. The services include multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange and connections to domestic and cross-border payment systems. Software interfaces let business customers connect their own payment services to this banking infrastructure.
Payment companies and banks need this infrastructure to receive funds, hold liquidity and transfer money on behalf of their customers. Banking Circle gives these businesses access to clearing systems through direct connections and partner banks. The service supports their own payment products; Banking Circle does not offer ordinary retail accounts directly to private individuals.
Accounts and clearing for payment firms
Banking Circle provides licensed banking infrastructure with connections to central bank clearing systems. Banking Circle serves regulated businesses such as payment firms and marketplaces, and states that it processes more than 1.5 trillion euros a year (Banking Circle). Banking Circle received its European banking license in Luxembourg in 2019 and set up a German branch in 2020; Munich is among its offices. The services include multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange and connections to domestic and cross-border payment systems.
Clearing access for payment firms
Banking Circle names access to ten local clearing schemes and lists its memberships in the SEPA clearing scheme, the SEPA Direct Debit scheme and the SEPA Instant clearing scheme. A payment company without its own access to these schemes sends and receives euro payments, instant transfers included, through the memberships held by Banking Circle. The classic alternative is a chain of correspondent banks; correspondent banking explains it, and instant payments in Europe covers the rules that made instant transfers standard in the euro area.
EURI and tokenized deposits
The interim MiCA register from ESMA lists Banking Circle S.A. in Luxembourg among the four credit institutions authorized to issue e-money tokens in Europe (ESMA), as What are stablecoin issuers? sets out. EURI, the euro token from Banking Circle, is among the euro stablecoins listed on European crypto exchanges. Banking Circle works on tokenized deposits for global fund settlement on the blockchain. Euro stablecoins under MiCA compares the euro tokens by issuer and license.
Upcoming payments events in Europe
Payments & Digital Money
Risk & Compliance
Is Banking Circle a bank?
Banking Circle received a European banking license in Luxembourg in 2019 and serves payment companies and other banks.
Does Banking Circle have a branch in Germany?
Banking Circle set up a German branch in 2020, and Munich is among its offices.
What is EURI?
EURI is the euro token from Banking Circle, and under MiCA it is an e-money token, and Banking Circle S.A. is among the credit institutions that the ESMA register lists as authorized issuers.
Clearing, instant payments and euro tokens
Banking Circle and Finance Loop
Employees of Banking Circle regularly take part in events from Finance Loop.
Finance Loop covers clearing and euro stablecoins in its Payments & Digital Money track.
Business development teams serving payment firms can discuss professional relationships around clearing access and settlement requirements with Finance Loop. An inquiry about payments partnerships should specify the intended institutions and the clearing or settlement topic your team wants to discuss.
Finance Loop is a European professional network for emerging technologies in finance, with Central Europe as the current regional focus. Finance Loop helps members build skills and professional relationships across these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.