Visa Direct tests stablecoins as cash equivalent for instant transfers

Visa has initiated a pilot program allowing banks and financial institutions to use stablecoins, specifically USDC and EURC, to facilitate real-time cross-border payouts. Announced at SIBOS 2025, this Visa Direct stablecoin piloting aims to modernize treasury operations by reducing the need for capital to be tied up in advance and streamlining liquidity management. By using stablecoins as cash equivalents, Visa enables near-instant payouts while unlocking working capital and shielding participants from currency volatility. Until now, Visa has processed over $225 million in stablecoin transactions, although this represents a small portion of its total annual payments of $16 trillion. The stablecoin pilot is currently limited to select partners with plans for an expanded rollout in 2026. This initiative follows Swift's announcement of a similar collaboration to improve cross-border payment systems and reflects a growing interest in stablecoin-based payment solutions.

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