Aon (AON), which advises on $5 trillion in assets as one of the world's largest insurance brokers, said it carried out a proof-of-concept using stablecoins to settle insurance premium payments, an early sign that dollar-pegged tokens may start moving deeper into corporate finance.

The London-based company worked with crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) and blockchain infrastructure firm Paxos to complete the transactions using Circle Internet's (CRCL) USDC token on Ethereum and PYUSD$0.9997 on Solana, according to a press release Monday.

Aon said the initiative marked the first known example of a major global insurance broker accepting stablecoins for premium settlement, even if only in a controlled demonstration.

While limited in scope, the exercise shows how stablecoins could simplify how large financial payments move through the insurance industry. Premiums today often pass through banks, whose clearing systems can take days to settle, especially across borders. Blockchain-based payments, proponents say, can move funds in minutes and leave a transparent record of the transaction.

The timing also underscores how the $300 billion stablecoin asset class is becoming increasingly embedded into traditional finance as the regulatory backdrop improves. The U.S. Genius Act, passed in 2025, established a federal framework for stablecoin issuers and set rules around reserves and oversight. That clarity has encouraged banks, fintech firms and large companies to test how tokenized dollars might fit into existing financial plumbing.

"While broader adoption of stablecoins across corporate payments is still emerging, the long-term potential is significant," John King, head of corporate portfolio strategy and treasurer for Aon, said in the statement.

"This work allows us to understand how these mechanisms operate within established systems and frameworks, so we are prepared to evaluate efficiency and cost-savings opportunities over time as the technology matures."

Read more: Circle moves $68 million in just 30 minutes by using its own stablecoin for internal payments