Singapore-based major payment institution FOMO Pay Pte. Ltd. announced Thursday it has entered into a strategic agreement to collaborate with Circle Internet Financial, LLC (Circle), a global financial technology firm and sole issuer of USD Coin (USDC) – one of the fastest growing digital currencies in the world with over $50 billion in circulation.

Both parties said in a statement FOMO Pay will integrate USDC into its services, allowing its merchant, corporate and financial institution clients to seamlessly convert between USDC and fiat currency. This will take advantage of the inherent efficiency of dollar digital currencies in payments and commerce.

FOMO Pay’s recognition by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on September 1 2021 as the first Digital Payment Token (DPT) Service licensee in Singapore reinforces its collaboration with Circle – consistent with the firm’s strategy to introduce crypto payments to its suite of services.

In November 2021, Circle announced its intention to establish a regional hub in Singapore and participation in a Lighthouse project with MAS. The initiative aims to demonstrate how digital currencies, open payment systems, and regulation can solve business and regulatory challenges while fuelling economic growth and Web 3.0 financial innovations.

“FOMO Pay is glad to collaborate with Circle. As USDC is one of the fastest growing stablecoins in the world, we are pleased to be the first official major payment institution in Southeast Asia to collaborate with Circle to integrate USDC into our payment products and ecosystem. With our newly-acquired DPT license, this collaboration fits FOMO Pay’s plans to build Web 3.0 payment infrastructure for the crypto economy that will also support a more inclusive society with broader access to financial services made possible by the efficiency of our crypto payments and commerce solutions,” said Louis Liu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FOMO Pay.

FOMO Pay is licensed by the MAS to conduct cross-border money transfer service, domestic money transfer service, digital payment token service, and merchant acquisition service. Founded in 2015, it has become a one stop digital payment and banking solution provider.

According to FOMO Pay, acceptance of card payment, QR payment and upcoming crypto currency has increased dramatically as governments around the region push an agenda for creating a cashless society and fostering financial inclusion.

The firm has enabled merchants and financial institutions to accept a comprehensive suite of payment methods in emerging markets across Asia and Africa. Its partners include NETS, Mastercard, GrabPay, Singtel Dash, WeChat Pay, Shopee Pay etc. It was also one of the founding members of the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) taskforce and contributed to the introduction of the SGQR – a national standard to unify all e-wallets and move towards promoting a cashless society in Singapore. The firm aims to build Asia’s first licensed gateway helping corporates connect with fiat and cryptocurrency.

“Working with FOMO Pay is a natural fit for Circle’s mission to raise global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of financial value, and to connect the world more deeply by building a new global economic system on the foundation of the internet. We are delighted to be part of FOMO Pay’s industry-leading initiative to establish digital payments integration in Southeast Asia,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Circle.

Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. It is the sole issuer of USDC, one of the fastest growing dollar digital currencies powering always-on internet-native commerce and payments. Today, Circle’s transactional services, business accounts, and platform APIs are giving rise to a new generation of financial services and commerce applications that hold the promise of raising global economic prosperity for all through the frictionless exchange of financial value. Additionally, it operates SeedInvest, a startup fundraising platform in the United States.

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