Visa is exploring stablecoins to enable quick international business payments
Imagine sending money abroad really quickly and easily, without the usual problems of high costs and waiting days for the money to arrive. That’s exactly what the global payments leader Visa is trying to do with its exciting new pilot programme. They’re looking into how stablecoins can transform international payments, offering businesses a quicker and more efficient way to transfer money worldwide through their Visa Direct service.
Essentially, instead of parking traditional currency for days while a transaction clears, businesses – from big banks to local remittance providers – can now use stablecoins to pre-fund their Visa Direct accounts. Visa then treats these stablecoins just like cash in the bank, making funds instantly available for payouts abroad. It’s a game-changer designed to slash costs, unlock liquidity, and dramatically speed up payouts that currently drag on for days.
A Visa representative said that they plan to add stablecoins to Visa Direct, their system for sending payments to many different places. “We’re creating a world where payments can be settled in stablecoins, which means instant, global and programmable payouts,” they said. This is good news for businesses. This could mean that payments are made much more quickly, which is good for business. And don’t worry about the people you’re sending the money to – they’ll still get their money in their local currency, just much, much faster.
Visa is keeping the names of the companies it is working with secret for now, but they said that Circle’s popular USDC and EURC stablecoins are the first ones being tested. More stablecoins will be added as demand grows, with a limited rollout planned by April 2026. When asked about Visa possibly starting its own stablecoin, the spokesperson answered politely, saying ‘never say never’. They also said that in the stablecoin ecosystem, “it’s hard to rule anything out”. But for now, they are working on making stablecoins more useful for cards, payments and bank integrations.
Visa’s move is important for stablecoins. The US GENIUS Act now provides much-needed regulatory clarity, meaning stablecoins are no longer seen as ‘niche’ and are being seen as a potential trillion-dollar market. Visa itself has highlighted two of its main benefits: it offers a safe way to save in unstable economies and it can dramatically cut costs and speeds for international money transfers for both businesses and everyday people. Visa has been dealing with stablecoins for a while. Earlier this year, they worked with Stripe-owned Bridge to allow developers to create Visa cards linked directly to stablecoins. This means users could spend their stablecoin balances at virtually any shop in the world. Just last June, they signed an agreement with Yellow Card, a company that works with African stablecoin payments, to explore ways to manage money and liquidity. They’ve even been exploring ways for banks to use stablecoins, and have developed a ‘Visa Tokenized Asset Platform’ to help them do this.
As Chris Newkirk, President of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions at Visa, aptly put it, “Cross-border payments have been stuck in outdated systems for far too long.” He believes that Visa Direct’s embrace of stablecoins is setting the stage for a truly instant, global movement of money, ultimately offering businesses far more flexibility and choice in how they handle their international transactions. It’s a clear signal that the future of finance is not just digital, but also incredibly fast and interconnected.
