Global money movement is changing, and fast. As businesses expand their reach, onboard remote teams, or serve customers across borders, one challenge keeps surfacing: to move funds quickly, reliably, and without unnecessary friction.
Yet settlement delays, unpredictable foreign exchange (FX) windows, and the stop‑start of global banking hours continue to slow businesses down. Treasury functions feel this especially sharply. Whether prefunding payouts, managing liquidity across markets, or paying international suppliers, time, quite literally, is money.
That’s why Visa Direct is piloting a new way forward: bringing stablecoins into global money movement to offer always‑on liquidity and the potential for faster, more flexible settlement options.
Why stablecoins and why now?
Stablecoins have rapidly evolved from a niche digital asset to one of the most promising tools for modernizing cross‑border finance. Global adoption is increasing, and regulatory clarity is growing; especially in major markets like the U.S.
For treasury teams, payment providers, marketplaces, and remittance platforms, the appeal of stablecoins is straightforward:
- Faster settlement windows
- Predictable value with USD‑backed assets
- Borderless reach through digital wallets
- movement of funds, without bank hour constraints (weekends included)
But what’s been missing is a trusted, scalable infrastructure to connect stablecoin value with the global financial system.
That’s where Visa Direct comes in.
A look at the Visa Direct pilot
Our stablecoin pilot introduces two core capabilities that help businesses manage, use, and move digital value like never before.
1. Prefunding with stablecoins
For banks, fintechs, stablecoin mints, FX providers, and treasury operations
Eligible clients can prefund their Visa Direct virtual accounts using stablecoins U.S. dollar coin (USDC) or PayPal USD (PYUSD). Once received, Visa converts the funds into fiat, recognizing them as USD balance which is available almost instantly for payouts.
This means:
- Liquidity when you need it, (even on weekends or after cut‑offs)
- Shorter funding windows, reducing FX exposure
- Less idle capital, as you can top up closer to payout time
- Clear, real‑time visibility into available funds
It’s a more agile way for treasury teams to move money across markets without waiting on traditional rails.
2. Payouts in stablecoins
For remitters, creator and gig platforms, humanitarian aid organizations, and marketplaces
With Visa Direct, senders can initiate payouts in fiat (like USD), and recipients can choose to receive funds in stablecoin which are delivered straight to their digital currency wallet.
This can unlock new advantages:
- Reach recipients in markets where local banking infrastructure lags
- Offer more predictable settlement values in volatile FX environments
- Enable near‑real‑time delivery outside bank operating hours
- Gain on‑chain confirmation, helping reduce disputes
For many contractors abroad, creators in emerging markets, and families receiving remittances, receiving funds in stablecoin isn’t just a modern option. It can be a more stable and accessible one.
Built on Visa’s global network
The Visa Direct stablecoin pilot uses the scale and reach of the Visa Direct global network, the Visa compliance framework, and Visa’s security standards. This combination helps bridge the gap between today’s financial system and the next generation of digital money.
With this pilot, Visa Direct brings:
- Always‑on liquidity, unconstrained by banking hours
- Shorter funding cycles and better capital efficiency
- Lower operational friction for treasury teams
- Traceable, auditable settlement through blockchain rails
- Access to new, digital‑first customer segments
In short: it’s stablecoin capability without the infrastructure burden.
Where this matters most
Stablecoins can help unlock value across a wide range of use cases:
- Global payouts and remittances
- Supplier and vendor payments
- Creator and marketplace earnings
- Aid disbursement in challenging markets
- IoT, agentic, and autonomous commerce (yes, machines paying machines)
As demand grows for digital, borderless value, Visa Direct is building the rails to support it, securely, compliantly, and at scale.
What next?
This pilot is an exciting step toward a more flexible, modern, and predictable global money movement ecosystem. In partnership with our clients, issuers, fintechs, and stablecoin providers, we’re helping test what the future of international finance could look like.
One where liquidity is always available.
One where payouts reach anyone with internet access.
One where digital value moves with the reliability the world expects from Visa.
We're just getting started.
Disclaimers:
This presentation contains forward‑looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that relate to, among other things, our future operations, prospects, developments, strategies, business growth and financial outlook. Forward‑looking statements generally are identified by words such as ‘believes,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘expects,’ ‘intends,’ ‘may,’ ‘projects,’ ‘could,’ ‘should,’ ‘will,’ ‘continue’ and other similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact could be forward‑looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made, are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. We describe risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward‑looking statements in our filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward‑looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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