Global fintech firm Hecto Financial held a lunch meeting on April 13 with Jeremy Allaire (제레미 알레어), founder and CEO of Circle, the U.S. issuer of global stablecoin USDC, and reaffirmed their close partnership. Executives from major South Korean financial institutions and fintech firms attended the meeting.

Hecto Financial participates in Circle's global payment network, CPN, as the only domestic payment partner. CPN is a small global network made up of about 20 to 30 major financial infrastructure providers worldwide. It links financial institutions and fintech firms and supports automated cross-border settlement using stablecoins such as USDC and EURC.

Hecto Group is also participating as a partner in the public testnet of Circle's stablecoin-only blockchain mainnet, Arc. Hecto Financial and Hecto Innovation are each taking part as the only South Korean companies in the payment ecosystem and wallet areas, respectively.

A Hecto Financial official said Hecto Financial will continue to expand its role as a core infrastructure provider in the stablecoin-centred global payment ecosystem based on its cooperation with Circle. The official said it also plans to accelerate efforts to build next-generation payment infrastructure in line with structural changes, including the emergence of the digital asset market and rising payment demand based on AI agents, while further solidifying its position in payment services based on finance.