Visa is integrating stablecoin settlements into the U.S. banking infrastructure by collaborating with USDC, Circle, and two pioneering banks: Cross River Bank and Lead Bank.
The company plans to process transactions on the Solana blockchain and will support Circle’s upcoming Arc blockchain once it becomes operational.
Although Visa has previously conducted international tests, this initiative marks its first effort to embed stablecoin settlement directly within American banks.
In July, a federal framework for stablecoins was signed into law by President Trump, paving the way for institutions to utilize fiat-backed digital dollars in both domestic and cross-border payments.
Circle’s token is secured by dollar-denominated assets such as U.S. Treasuries, enabling banks to transfer funds without relying on traditional clearing systems that typically require several days.
Broadening Stablecoin Settlement Capabilities Within U.S. Banks
Luca Cosentino, Senior Vice President of Product at Cross River Bank, highlighted a rapidly growing demand from fintechs and crypto firms seeking innovative payment solutions.
“We’re witnessing a surge in requests from fintech and crypto clients addressing new use cases; this demand is substantial,” Luca explained.
Many companies are issuing payment cards linked directly to stablecoin balances so users can spend digital dollars while merchants receive payments in their local currency.
Banks view this model as an opportunity to attract fresh clientele. Luca noted that settling card transactions via stablecoins will appeal especially to startups requiring faster global settlements.
He added that over time, adopting stablecoins will become an obvious choice widely embraced across the industry.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain consistent value; USDC remains pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar through equivalent reserves. This stability attracts major payment providers eager to capitalize on emerging trends. Experts forecast that by 2030 stablecoins could facilitate over $50 trillion annually in payment volume.
Mastercard announced in April its intention to enable merchants accepting stablecoin payments. Additionally, Fortune reported last October that Mastercard is negotiating acquisition talks with Zero Hash—a firm specializing in crypto infrastructure services.
Catalyzing Settlement Expansion Across Payment Networks
This year has seen traditional financial institutions becoming more transparent about their plans involving stablecoins following regulatory easing under Trump’s administration concerning digital assets policies.
An earlier partnership between Visa and Stripe produced Bridge—a platform allowing fintech companies worldwide—initially focused on Latin America—to launch multi-country programs using cards backed by stablecoins amid volatile local currencies there.
Using blockchains reduces settlement durations significantly compared with legacy rails where processing can take up three business days even within Visa’s ecosystem.Blockchain networks operate continuously including weekends.Visa disclosed $3 .5 billion annualized volume settled viastable coinsbyNovember30 .
Although growing quickly,this figureremains modestcompared tothe$17 trillionprocessedacrossVisa’sbroader networklastyear.
Now,Visa aimsto establish itselfasaprimarysettlementpartnerforentitiesbuildingontopofstable cointechnology.Thecompanyrecentlylaunchedaglobaladvisoryserviceprovidingguidanceforbanks ,merchants,andfintechfirmsinterestedindigital-dollarpaymentrails.
Furthermore ,Visaispromotingitsplatformfordigitizingassets,enablingfinancialinstitutionsissuefiat-backedtokensforcustomprograms.
WiththeapprovalfortheuseofstablecoinsthroughU .S.banks ,Visais positioningitselfearlytosecurealeadingroleinthefutureoffinancialtransactionscenteredaroundtheseinnovativepaymentmethods .
Visa is integrating stablecoin settlements into the U.S. banking infrastructure by collaborating with USDC, Circle, and two pioneering banks: Cross River Bank and Lead Bank.
The company plans to process transactions on the Solana blockchain and will support Circle’s upcoming Arc blockchain once it becomes operational.
Although Visa has previously conducted international tests, this initiative marks its first effort to embed stablecoin settlement directly within American banks.
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