Visa Launches Stablecoin Pilot with Circle for Cross-Border Business Payments Through Direct Platform

Visa Inc., the San Francisco-based payments giant, launched a stablecoin pilot program on September 30, 2025, enabling financial institutions to use pre-funded stablecoins for cross-border payments through its Visa Direct platform . The initiative allows banks and businesses to utilize USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC) to facilitate real-time global payouts, marking a significant step in integrating digital assets into mainstream payment infrastructure.

The pilot program addresses longstanding inefficiencies in international business payments, where traditional correspondent banking relationships often require multiple days for settlement. Under the new system, participating financial institutions can prefund their Visa Direct accounts with Circle-issued stablecoins, enabling immediate settlement and improved liquidity management for cross-border transactions .

Circle Internet Financial, the Boston-based stablecoin issuer, serves as Visa's primary partner in the initiative. Circle, which operates one of the largest stablecoin ecosystems globally, provides the underlying USDC and EURC tokens that maintain price stability through full backing by fiat currency reserves. The company has positioned itself as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets, particularly for enterprise payment applications.

Visa Direct, the company's real-time push payment platform, processes transactions to eligible debit cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets across more than 190 countries. The integration of stablecoins aims to modernize treasury operations for businesses by reducing settlement times from days to minutes while providing greater transparency in cross-border money flows .

The pilot builds on Visa's broader digital asset strategy, which has evolved significantly since the company first began settling transactions in USDC on the Ethereum blockchain in 2021. Visa has gradually expanded its crypto partnerships, including collaborations with major exchanges like Coinbase and various fintech platforms offering digital asset services .

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