UN receives Circle grant to upgrade cross-border refugee aid

Circle said digital financial infrastructure, including stablecoins, can save 20% of the cost of delivering humanitarian aid.

Stablecoin issuer Circle has issued a grant to support the rollout of digital financial infrastructure across the United Nations, with the aim of making humanitarian aid payments more efficient.

Announced at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, the Circle Foundation said its first international grant would support the UN’s Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions (DHoTS) “efforts to streamline monetary value transfers across the UN ecosystem.”

The grant builds on Circle’s first collaboration with UNHCR and DHoTS in 2022, which facilitated USDC (USDC) stablecoin payments for displaced Ukrainians.

UN Development Programme administrator Alexander De Croo said that stablecoin payments would enable the UN to “make every dollar work harder” with “tight budgets.”

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