Circle Foundation said it has awarded two grants to the United Nations Development Programme and the World Food Programme to explore how digital payments and digital financial infrastructure could be used in humanitarian aid and development programs. The initiative will examine whether regulated payment stablecoins can help move funds to recipients faster, with greater transparency and at lower cost. For UNDP, the grant will fund the creation and operation of a Digital Asset Innovation Pool designed to help country offices expand earlier digital payment pilots in Syria, Haiti, Guatemala, and Gambia into regular program delivery, while adding support on regulation, operations, and beneficiary protections. Circle Foundation said the mechanism is intended to complement, not replace, traditional banking channels. For WFP, the funding will support the governance, risk management, treasury, reconciliation systems, and compliance tools needed for stablecoin payments, along with integration with local fintech and mobile payment services. Over the next three years, WFP plans to test two to three payment rails linking its payment system with local financial service providers and markets.
Circle Foundation has awarded two grants to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to explore the use of digital payments and digital financial infrastructure in humanitarian aid and development programs.
The foundation said the work will study how digital payments and regulated payment stablecoins could be used to disburse funds to recipients faster, with more transparency, and at lower cost.
UNDP grant will fund a Digital Asset Innovation Pool
The grant for UNDP will be used to build and operate a Digital Asset Innovation Pool. The goal is to help country offices expand earlier digital payment pilots in Syria, Haiti, Guatemala, and Gambia from one-off projects into regular program execution.
The mechanism will also provide support on regulation, operations, and beneficiary safeguards. Circle Foundation said it is not meant to replace traditional banking channels, but to serve as an additional option alongside existing payment systems.
WFP plans to test 2 to 3 payment rails over the next 3 years
The grant for WFP will support the development of the governance, risk management, treasury, reconciliation systems, and compliance tools required for stablecoin payments. It will also support integration with local fintech and mobile payment services.
Over the next three years, WFP plans to test 2 to 3 payment rails connecting its payment system with local financial service providers and markets, to assess how stablecoin payments perform in efficiency, transparency, and resilience.
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