Visa now allows American banks and fintechs to settle their obligations directly in USDC. This expansion in the United States follows a pilot already annualized at $3.5 billion in transactions.
Visa enables banks to settle their obligations in USDC
Visa is speeding up the integration of stablecoins in traditional finance. The payment card giant now permits American banks and fintechs to settle their obligations with the Visa network directly in USDC, Circle’s stablecoin. This new phase marks the official entry of the program in the United States, following a pilot already processing $3.5 billion worth of transactions annually.
The first institutions to use this mechanism are Cross River Bank and Lead Bank. Both settle their flows with Visa in USDC, via the Solana blockchain. For end customers, nothing changes. Card payments remain the same. It is the interbank settlement infrastructure behind the scenes that partially shifts onchain.
Nearly instantaneous settlements, 7 days a week
The stated goal is clear: to streamline cash management. By using USDC, Visa promises nearly instant fund movements, available 24/7, including weekends and holidays. A stark contrast to traditional banking systems, often slowed down by clearing delays and market hours.
For issuing and acquiring banks, this option provides better liquidity predictability and reduces the need to pre-fund settlement accounts. Rubail Birwadker, global head of growth products and strategic partnerships at Visa, sums up the logic: banking partners are no longer just asking for this type of solution; they are actively preparing to use it.
Solana today, Arc tomorrow
The deployment starts on Solana, a blockchain known for its low costs and fast execution. But Visa has broader plans. The group has announced strengthening its partnership with Circle by becoming a design partner of Circle Arc, the future stablecoin blockchain. Visa even plans to operate a validating node when the network launches.
This multi-chain strategy follows on from experiments conducted since 2021. Visa had started testing settlements in USDC four years ago, before becoming one of the first major payment networks in 2023 to carry out effective settlements in stablecoins. Since then, the pilot has expanded to multiple blockchains and digital assets, providing partners with choices.
Stablecoins establish themselves as payment rails
Stablecoins have become an essential building block of the crypto ecosystem, used for both payments and cross-border transfers. Tether’s USDT still dominates the market, but USDC is gradually becoming an institutional standard, especially in the United States.
With this extension, Visa sends a strong signal: stablecoins are no longer confined to exchanges or DeFi. They are now integrated at the heart of global payment infrastructures. The group plans to gradually open access to more American partners by 2026.
As banks seek to modernize their flows and build ‘programmable money’ solutions, the boundary between traditional banking networks and public blockchains continues to blur. For Visa, the bet is clear: the future of settlement will also play out onchain.
