Global payments giant Visa has launched an exciting pilot project, empowering banks and financial institutions to leverage stablecoins for pre-funding cross-border payments. This initiative is set to revolutionize international transfers by making them faster and more efficient.
Unveiled at the SBOS 2025, the Visa Direct pilot allows select partners to use Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC) as pre-funded assets, enabling near-instant payouts. Visa recognizes these stablecoins as cash equivalents, which means businesses can execute transfers without needing to hold substantial amounts of traditional fiat currency in advance.
Visa Aims to Modernize Treasury Operations with Stablecoin Integration
This pilot program is strategically designed to unlock working capital and reduce the reliance on pre-funding accounts across multiple currencies, especially during non-business hours or weekends when conventional systems are typically dormant. Stablecoins, which are digital tokens pegged to stable assets like the US dollar, offer a solution to maintain value stability. Their integration into cross-border transfers promises to make payments significantly quicker, more predictable, and less vulnerable to fluctuating currency exchange rates.
Mark Nelsen, Head of Product for Visa’s Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, highlighted the transformative impact of recent regulatory clarity. He noted that before clearer rules emerged for stablecoin issuers, many large institutions were hesitant to fully embrace this technology. New US laws have since provided the necessary guidance, encouraging greater participation from mainstream businesses.
Chris Newkirk, Visa’s President of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, emphasized that Visa Direct’s new stablecoin integration is laying crucial groundwork for money to move instantaneously across the globe, offering businesses unprecedented flexibility in their payment methods.
To date, Visa has processed over $225 million (approximately ₹1,875 crore) in stablecoin volume. While this represents a small fraction of its impressive $16 trillion (₹1,33,600,000 crore) in annual payments, it signals a significant step forward. The pilot currently involves a limited number of partners, with plans for a wider launch anticipated in 2026.
Market analysts suggest that the broader adoption of stablecoins could reshape the market share of various payment companies and regional banks. Mathew Turtle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, remarked that “Stablecoins are moving from crypto gimmick to financial plumbing,” underscoring their growing importance in the financial ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Visa collaborated with Stripe-owned Bridge to enable developers to create stablecoin-linked Visa cards, allowing users worldwide to spend their stablecoin balances at merchants.
In June, Visa also forged a partnership with Yellow Card, a stablecoin payments company with a strong presence in Africa, to explore innovative treasury and liquidity use cases. Furthermore, the company has actively tested stablecoin settlement for card issuers and acquirers, and developed the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform to assist banks in issuing and managing stablecoins within pilot environments.