Global payments giant Visa announced a pilot project at SBOS 2025 on September 30, 2025, enabling banks and financial institutions to pre-fund cross-border payments using stablecoins like Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC). The Visa Direct pilot allows select partners to facilitate near-instant payouts, treating stablecoins as cash equivalents to reduce the need for large fiat currency reserves.
The pilot aims to streamline treasury operations by freeing up working capital and minimising reliance on multi-currency pre-funding accounts, especially during off-hours or weekends. Stablecoins, pegged to assets such as the US dollar, offer faster, more predictable transfers with reduced exposure to currency volatility. “The Genius Act changed everything, providing regulatory clarity,” said Mark Nelsen, Head of Product for Visa’s Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, to Reuters.
Visa is testing a pilot program that gives financial institutions the option of using pre-funded stablecoins to make cross-boarder payments faster https://t.co/ag2sqMGNxu
— Bloomberg (@business) September 30, 2025Chris Newkirk, Visa’s President of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, stated, “Visa Direct’s stablecoin integration lays the groundwork for money to move instantly across the world, giving businesses more choice.” Visa has settled over $225 million in stablecoin volume, a fraction of its $16 trillion annual payments, with a broader rollout planned for 2026.
Visa partnered with Stripe-owned Bridge to issue stablecoin-linked cards and with Yellow Card in June 2025 to explore treasury solutions in Africa. The Visa Tokenised Asset Platform supports banks in managing stablecoins, enhancing pilot environments for issuers and acquirers.
The pilot, impacting 5% of global cross-border transactions (Visa, 2025), could reshape payment systems, with 60% of businesses seeking faster solutions (Pymnts, 2025). Analyst Mathew Turtle noted, “Stablecoins are moving from crypto gimmick to financial plumbing,” potentially challenging the market share of regional banks.
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