Visa bets on stablecoins to speed up cross-border payments

The pilot initiative will allow banks, remittance firms and other financial institutions to pre-fund accounts with stablecoins instead of traditional currencies.
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Visa revealed plans to launch a trial system enabling businesses to utilize stablecoins for international transactions, rather than requiring them to deposit funds in local accounts beforehand.

This initiative underscores growing acceptance of digital tokens among major corporations, following regulatory clarity provided by the U.S. Genius Act, which established frameworks for stablecoin issuers.

“The Genius Act marked a turning point in institutional legitimacy. Before this legislation, larger financial institutions remained hesitant to engage,” said Mark Nelsen, Visa’s Global Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions during a recent discussion.

The company currently operates with unnamed partners and intends to expand the trial program in the coming year.

This experimental approach enables financial institutions to fund international transactions using stablecoins rather than conventional currencies, potentially streamlining payment processing and reducing cash reserves tied up in local markets.

Stablecoins maintain a fixed value relative to traditional assets like dollars or Treasury bonds, making them increasingly attractive for rapid cross-border settlements. However, concerns persist about their potential to disrupt existing payment systems and regional banks’ market share.

“Stablecoins are evolving from crypto novelty to essential infrastructure,” noted Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, whose firm operates an inverse regional bank ETF reflecting concerns about sector vulnerabilities.

Rather than competing with stablecoin technology, Visa’s approach integrates it into established financial frameworks. “The existing global payment infrastructure requires extensive investment to replicate. Incorporating stablecoins into current systems presents a more practical solution,” Nelsen concluded.

Published on September 30, 2025