Visa, a global leader in digital payments, is advancing its mission to modernize cross-border money movement. The company has announced the expansion of its stablecoin settlement capabilities to include the Solana blockchain and is now collaborating with major merchant acquirers, Worldpay and Nuvei. This move aims to enhance the speed and efficiency of international transactions for businesses and financial institutions.
How Visa’s Stablecoin Settlement Works
When a consumer makes a purchase using a Visa card, the payment authorization is nearly instantaneous. Behind the scenes, however, funds must move between the consumer’s bank (the issuer) and the merchant’s bank (the acquirer). Visa’s treasury and settlement systems facilitate this process, clearing and settling billions of transactions daily across nearly 15,000 financial institutions and over 25 currencies.
Through live pilots, Visa has already moved millions of USDC (a USD-pegged stablecoin) between partners using both the Solana and Ethereum blockchain networks. This allows for the settlement of fiat-denominated payments authorized over VisaNet.
“By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we're helping to improve the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury,” said Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa.
Evolution from the Crypto.com Pilot
Visa’s journey into stablecoin settlement began in 2021 with a pilot involving Crypto.com. This made Visa one of the first major payment networks to test stablecoin settlement on the issuance side. Initially, cross-border purchases on Crypto.com Visa cards required a lengthy currency conversion process and costly international wire transfers.
The successful pilot demonstrated that Crypto.com could send USDC directly to a Visa-managed Circle account over the Ethereum blockchain. This significantly reduced settlement time and complexity. As a result, Crypto.com now uses USDC to settle obligations for its Visa card program in Australia and plans to expand this capability to other markets.
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder and CEO of Circle, emphasized the significance of this collaboration: “Circle built USDC to provide a functional digital dollar that could move at the speed of the internet to facilitate secure, reliable payments.”
Expanding to Acquirers: Worldpay and Nuvei
Building on the success with issuers, Visa is now extending stablecoin settlement capabilities to acquirers. This means Visa can send funds onchain to acquirers like Worldpay and Nuvei, accelerating settlement times for their merchants.
Worldpay and Nuvei serve a diverse range of merchants worldwide, including those in the blockchain and crypto economy, such as on-ramp providers, gaming platforms, and NFT marketplaces. Many of these merchants prefer receiving stablecoins over traditional fiat currencies for card payments.
Using its Circle account, Visa can now manage settlement payouts in USDC to these acquirers, who can then route the payments to their end merchants. This provides greater flexibility and efficiency in cross-border fund movement.
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Why Visa Chose Solana
To meet growing client demand for high-speed, low-cost stablecoin transactions, Visa has added support for the Solana blockchain. Solana offers high performance, with 400-millisecond block times and an average of 400 transactions per second (TPS), often surging to over 2,000 TPS during peak demand.
This makes Visa one of the first major payments companies to utilize Solana at scale for live settlement payments between clients. The integration provides partners with more options for sending and receiving USDC settlements, enhancing overall system efficiency.
The Strategic Importance of Partnerships
Visa’s collaborations with Worldpay and Nuvei underscore its commitment to innovation in the digital payments landscape. These partnerships are designed to diversify funding options and increase flexibility for global merchants.
Jim Johnson, President of Worldpay Merchant Solutions at FIS, noted: “Diversifying funding options and increasing flexibility is critical to serving the changing needs of global merchants.”
Philip Fayer, Chair and CEO of Nuvei, added: “Stablecoins like USDC are cutting-edge payments technology that can enable online businesses around the world to accelerate their growth.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is stablecoin settlement?
Stablecoin settlement involves using digital currencies pegged to stable assets, like the US dollar, to facilitate fast and low-cost transactions between parties. It reduces reliance on traditional banking systems and international wire transfers.
How does Visa use USDC?
Visa uses USDC to send and receive cross-border payments between issuers and acquirers over blockchain networks like Ethereum and Solana. This modernizes treasury operations and accelerates settlement times.
Why did Visa choose Solana?
Visa selected Solana for its high performance, speed, and low transaction costs. The network’s ability to handle high throughput makes it suitable for large-scale settlement operations.
Which companies are involved in Visa’s stablecoin settlement?
Visa is working with issuers like Crypto.com and acquirers including Worldpay and Nuvei. These partnerships help extend stablecoin settlement capabilities to a broader range of merchants.
What are the benefits for merchants?
Merchants can receive settlements faster and with lower fees. They also gain the flexibility to choose stablecoins over traditional fiat currencies, which is particularly advantageous for businesses in the crypto economy.
Is this technology available globally?
Currently, the capability is being piloted in specific markets, such as Australia, with plans for gradual expansion. Visa aims to extend these modern settlement options to more regions over time.
Visa continues to lead the way in digital currency and blockchain innovation, leveraging new technologies to improve the efficiency and reliability of global money movement.