UN aid agencies to extend use of digital financial infrastructure

UN aid agencies are to extend their use of digital financial infrastructure as they look to transform the efficiency and efficacy of financial flows and – ultimately – payments to refugees.

The move is described by UNHCR treasurer Carmen Hett in a LinkedIn post as a ‘milestone for humanitarian finance’ and ‘not just an upgrade [but] a transformational shift’. It is being enabled by the first international grant from the Circle Foundation, a philanthropic initiative recently launched by Circle, the US-headquartered financial technology company best known as the issuer of USD Coin (USDC).

The grant will support specifically the UN’s Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions – a joint-UN platform launched by UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, in 2021 – in its efforts to ‘streamline monetary value transfers across the UN system, reduce costs, enhance transparency and enable secure, real-time access to financial systems and markets worldwide,’ according to a Circle-issued press release.

The Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions has been established to create an ‘integrated financial gateway using next-generation banking and risk management technology to strengthen financial resilience’ across UN systems. The platform has expanded to include 15 agencies – including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – with technical support from the United Nations International Computing Centre.

Circle Foundation’s grant to UNHCR – an early adopter in blockchain-based assistance – in support of DHoTS builds on Circle’s 2022 collaboration with UNHCR when the agency pioneered USDC-based aid payments for displaced Ukrainians.

RELATED ARTICLE UN pilots blockchain and USDC stablecoin for disbursements in Ukraine – a news story (29 December 2022) on the programme referenced above

Quicker aid

The global humanitarian aid system moves about $38 billion (about £27.7 billion) each year, ‘yet still relies on legacy, time-intensive, traditional financial rails,’ Circle states in its press release.

UNHCR pilots since 2022 have demonstrated that ‘digital financial infrastructure, including regulated stablecoins, can deliver assistance quickly, securely and with increased traceability, resulting in significant programme and delivery cost reduction,’ the press release continues.  

The announcement then sets out what Circle Foundation’s grant will help enable in DHoTS: ‘near-instant’ cross-border transfers reducing costs and delays associated with traditional correspondent banking; conversion into local currencies through integrations with banks, mobile-money operators and fintech partners, ‘expanding access in hard-to-reach markets’; greater transparency and accountability ‘driven by streamlined and interoperable financial systems’; programmable disbursements that automate manual steps and ‘ease’ operational and reporting burdens; and ‘system-wide impact’ by upgrading core shared infrastructure.

‘UNHCR’s blockchain‑based banking pilots demonstrate how next‑generation digital financial infrastructure – including regulated stablecoins – can deliver human-centred aid faster, with full traceability, stronger accountability, and with promising initial cost savings of up to 20 per cent —maximising impact for every donor dollar,’ the press release states.

The announcement was made during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026 in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

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‘More secure and efficient’

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih described the Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions as “scaling up with support from Circle Foundation to further benefit UN agencies and drive efficiency across the humanitarian sector.”

“This is about using technology to uphold dignity and choice for people forced to flee, while maximising impact for every dollar entrusted to us,” Salih, a former president of Iraq who started a five-year term in the role this month (January), added.

“In a world of tight budgets, we have to make every dollar work harder – for people today and for countries’ development tomorrow,” said UNDP administrator Alexander De Croo.

“Through the Digital Hub of Treasury Solutions, the partnership between UNDP, UNHCR and Circle will help make digital payments more secure and efficient,” De Croo, who was prime minister of Belgium from 2020 to 2025, continued. “By using regulated stablecoins for programme payments and cross-border transfers, we can reduce costs, improve transparency, and build more inclusive and trustworthy financial systems that protect people’s data, respect monetary sovereignty and support long-term resilience.” 

“Modern humanitarian finance needs modern infrastructure,” said Circle’s chief strategic engagement officer Elisabeth Carpenter, who is also Circle Foundation founding chair. “By helping DHoTS integrate digital financial infrastructure, including regulated stablecoins with embedded regulatory financial risk management, compliance and integrated artificial intelligence-enabled controls, we can help make aid faster, more transparent and more accountable across the entire UN system. This is a systems-level upgrade that can unlock recurring savings year after year while strengthening trust and accountability in global aid.”