The blockchain-based fintech Circle is perhaps best known as the issuer of USDC stablecoins, but the company is much broader than that. In the words of its leaders, Circle seeks to build a foundational economic operating system for an AI-driven digital economy running on a blockchain-based payments infrastructure. In this episode Circle CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen speaks with McKinsey partner and payments industry expert Matt Higginson about the effect of the passage of 2025’s Genius Act on the future of stablecoin innovation, sources of future value, and how his background in philosophy informs his work and leadership style.

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The 2025 McKinsey Global Payments Report: Competing systems, contested outcomes
Guardrails for growth: Building a resilient payments system
The stable door opens: How tokenized cash enables next-gen payments
Global Banking Annual Review 2025: Why precision, not heft, defines the future of banking
After the surge: Tien‑Tsin Huang on the future of payments
The future of the payments industry: How managing risk can drive growth

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The longtime business payments company seeks to transform B2B money movement and related activities, creating new revenue streams and better cashflow.

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As digital payments make up a growing share of money movement, payments fraud is becoming more frequent and complex, requiring a broader range of ever-more-powerful security tools. SardineAI seeks to meet that need with an AI-powered fraud prevention and compliance platform that uses device intelligence, behavior-based analytics, and machine learning to protect financial services, fintech, and e-commerce businesses.

In this episode, SardineAI cofounder and CEO Soups Ranjan speaks with McKinsey partner and payments industry expert Roshan Varadarajan about Ranjan’s experience leading financial crime prevention at Revolut and Coinbase before starting Sardine; the future of payment fraud prevention, given the emergence of agentic commerce; and the growth of the payments security industry.

Related insights

The 2025 McKinsey Global Payments Report: Competing systems, contested outcomes
Guardrails for growth: Building a resilient payments system
The stable door opens: How tokenized cash enables next-gen payments
Global Banking Annual Review 2025: Why precision, not heft, defines the future of banking
After the surge: Tien‑Tsin Huang on the future of payments
The future of the payments industry: How managing risk can drive growth

Follow our banking and payments sector insights: Talking Banking Matters

Read our Financial services blog: Banking & Securities Matters

Discover our latest insights with our LinkedIn community of 9,000+ financial services professionals: McKinsey Financial Services

Find all of our Financial Services insights on McKinsey.com

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information