Visa is launching an initiative to integrate stablecoins into its Visa Direct platform to radically shrink settlement times for cross-border money transfers, moving from days to minutes. This effort aims to give businesses faster access to working capital and reduce the necessity of pre-funding large cash balances.
How the New Model Works
Stablecoin Pre-funding: The new model allows financial institutions (such as banks and remittance providers) to pre-fund their Visa Direct accounts using stablecoins instead of traditional fiat currency.
Real-Time Payouts: Visa treats these stablecoin balances as spendable funds, enabling instantaneous payouts. Recipients continue to receive their money in their local fiat currencies.
Initial Tokens: The first stablecoins being integrated are USDC and EURC, both issued by Circle. Visa plans to expand token support as the program grows.
Modernizing Payments: A Visa spokesperson highlighted the initiative as an effort toward “real-time, programmable money movement,” modernizing the global settlement infrastructure.
The pilot program, expected to be in limited availability by April 2026, is already undergoing trials with select partners. While Visa is currently focused on scaling the integration of existing stablecoins across its ecosystem (including cards and merchant settlements), the successful implementation of this program could establish Visa as a key player in bringing stablecoin usage into mainstream global payments.
September 2025, Cryptoniteuae
