Visa, the global payments giant, has started a pilot program to test the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments. The initiative gives businesses a faster way to send money abroad.
Under the pilot, banks and remittance providers can pre-fund Visa Direct with stablecoins instead of traditional currency. Visa will treat those stablecoins as available balances for payouts, which means businesses won’t have to lock up large sums of cash days in advance.
The pilot aims to reduce settlement times from days to just minutes, improving liquidity for companies. Recipients will still be able to receive payments in their local currencies, Visa confirmed.
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The company is working with select partners and plans limited availability by April 2026. While Visa did not disclose names, it confirmed that Circle’s USDC and EURC are the first stablecoins being tested, with more possibly added in the future.
When asked whether Visa plans to issue its own stablecoin, the spokesperson said: “In the stablecoin ecosystem, it’s hard to rule anything out.” However, for now, Visa’s focus is on scaling the use of existing stablecoins across cards, settlements, and bank integrations.
Visa Expands Stablecoin Push Amid U.S. Regulation Shift
Stablecoins are moving closer to mainstream adoption after the U.S. passed the GENIUS Act, the first federal law to set clear rules for the sector. The market is now being viewed as a trillion-dollar opportunity, with Visa highlighting two key use cases: protecting savings in countries with unstable currencies and enabling faster, cheaper cross-border payments for both businesses and consumers.
“Cross-border payments have been stuck in outdated systems for far too long. Visa Direct’s new stablecoin integration sets the stage for money to move instantly across the globe, giving businesses greater flexibility in how they pay.”
Chris Newkirk, president of commercial and money movement solutions at Visa.
Visa has been steadily building its stablecoin strategy. Earlier this year, it teamed up with Stripe-owned Bridge to let developers issue Visa cards tied to stablecoin balances, making it possible for users to spend directly at global merchants. In June, the company partnered with Yellow Card, a major stablecoin payments provider in Africa, to test treasury and liquidity applications. It has also trialed stablecoin settlement for card issuers and acquirers and launched the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform, designed to help banks issue and manage stablecoins in pilot settings.
