What happened? Visa began testing stablecoin-based funding for cross-border payments.
Visa launched a pilot using Visa Direct that lets businesses fund international payouts with stablecoins instead of pre-depositing cash into local accounts. The program is in testing with unnamed partners now and Visa plans to expand it in 2026. The company has already processed over $200 million in stablecoin settlements and built token platforms to support this shift.
Who does this affect? Banks, remittance firms, fintechs and businesses that move money across borders.
These institutions often keep cash parked in multiple local accounts to meet payout rules, a practice Visa’s stablecoin approach could reduce. Remittance companies and banks could free up capital, speed up payouts, and lower operational friction, while stablecoin issuers could see increased institutional demand. End customers may get faster transfers and potentially lower fees as the new rails scale.
Why does this matter? It could cut idle capital and accelerate the move toward digital-asset payment rails.
If widely adopted, stablecoin funding can reduce the need to hold multiple currency balances, lowering costs and capital requirements for firms handling cross-border payments. That would push incumbents to integrate crypto rails, reshaping the payments market as the stablecoin market grows toward forecasts in the trillions. Regulatory clarity — like recent U.S. rules — will be crucial: with it adoption could speed up, without it the rollout could stall.