SAP, the German software company, has embarked on cross-border payment testing by utilizing Circle’s USDC stablecoin, aiming to address the complexities associated with international money transfers.
The company’s experimentation with the widely recognized stablecoin was disclosed in a recent blog post, where it was revealed that the testing is being carried out on an Ethereum test network.
Crossing border experiment
SAP highlighted the key challenges they aim to address through their cross-border payment tests. These challenges include the high cost of transactions, which can amount to up to $50 per transaction, as well as the slow speed of up to 7 days to transmit money. Additionally, the lack of transaction status transparency was recognized as another issue.
To showcase the future potential of cross-border payments with digital money, SAP unveiled a preview of their SAP Digital Currency Hub. They invited users to register and test this payment method leveraging Circle, the second-largest stablecoin in the market, and the Ethereum network.
It is worth noting that because this is an experiment, customers will not be able to make actual payments using USD coin (USDC).
Instead, participants will receive a certain amount of the cryptocurrency and an accompanying invoice, enabling them to experience how affordable and reliable cross-border payments will look like according to SAP.
The test will be conducted on a distinct blockchain, not Ethereum, and will not utilize actual ERC-20 USDC tokens. However, if there is substantial client interest, it is speculated that the adoption of Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies would surge, given that numerous prominent corporations rely on SAP’s services.
The experiment aims to demonstrate the efficiency and convenience of utilizing USDC for seamless international transactions.
In response to the news some in the Twitter community were quick to question why USDC rather than USDT.
A recent analysis conducted by Kaiko, presents a potential answer suggesting that USD Coin (USDC) has emerged as the most liquid stablecoin on centralized exchanges (CEXs). The study revealed that approximately $38 million in bids are currently preventing a .1% price deviation of the USDC asset.
Impact on the markets
According to data from CoinMarketCap, USD coin (USDC) is currently trading close to the midpoint of its price range over the past five days. The stablecoin is 0.09% below its highest point during this period and 0.10% higher than its lowest point, which was at $0.999.
Despite the positive announcement, surrounding adoption of digital currencies in large businesses, it is worth noting that USD Coin has been experiencing lower trading volume recently. Today’s volume is below the average volume observed over the past seven days, suggesting reduced market activity surrounding the stablecoin.
