Visa Direct Tests Stablecoins for Instant Cross-Border Transfers

Global payments company Visa has launched a pilot project allowing banks and financial institutions to pre-fund cross-border payments using stablecoins, aiming to accelerate international transfers. Announced at the SBOS 2025, the Visa Direct pilot enables select partners to use Circle's USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC) as pre-funded assets for near-instant payouts. Visa treats these stablecoins as cash equivalents, so businesses can make transfers without holding large sums of fiat currency in advance. 

Visa Looks to Modernise Treasury Operations With Stablecoin Integration

The pilot is designed to free up working capital and reduce reliance on pre-funding accounts in multiple currencies, particularly during off-hours or weekends when traditional systems are inactive. To maintain a stable wage, Stablecoins, which are digital tokens, are often pegged to assets such as the US dollar. Using them in cross-border transfers could make payments much faster, more predictable, and less exposed to currency volatility. 

“The Genius Act changed everything. It made everything so much more legitimate. Before that regulatory clarity, all the big institutions were sort of on the fence," Mark Nelsen, Head of Product for Visa's Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, told Reuters. The US law provides clearer rules for stablecoin issuers, encouraging greater participation by mainstream businesses.

Chris Newkirk, Visa's President of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, said, “Visa Direct's new stablecoins integration lays the groundwork for money to move instantly across the world, giving businesses more choice in how they pay.” 

Visa has settled over $225 million (approximately Rs. 1,875 crore) in stablecoin volume to date, a small portion of its $16 trillion (Rs. 1,33,600,000 crore) in annual payments. The pilot is currently limited to selected partners, with a broader rollout expected in 2026.

Analysts have suggested that wider adoption of stablecoins may influence the market share of some payment companies and regional banks. Mathew Turtle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, said, "Stablecoins are moving from crypto gimmick to financial plumbing."

Earlier this year, Visa partnered with Stripe-owned Bridge to enable developers to issue stablecoin-linked Visa cards, allowing users to spend stablecoin balances at merchants worldwide. 

In June, the company struck a deal with Yellow Card, a stablecoin payments company with a strong presence in Africa, to explore treasury and liquidity use cases. It has also tested stablecoin settlement for card issuers and acquirers, and developed the Visa Tokenised Asset Platform to help banks issue and manage stablecoins in pilot environments.