Visa expands settlement options for stablecoins on Ethereum and Solana.

Visa is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities in collaboration with Circle's USDC, aiming to modernize cross-border money movement. This initiative follows a successful pilot with Crypto.com and includes partnerships with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei. Visa has already executed live pilots with issuers and acquirers, moving millions of USDC over the Solana and Ethereum blockchains to settle fiat-denominated payments authorized over VisaNet.

The move is designed to streamline cross-border settlements, offering consumers nearly instant payment authorizations when using Visa cards worldwide. Visa's treasury and settlement systems ensure the smooth movement of funds between issuers and acquirers, involving nearly 15,000 financial institutions and over 25 currencies globally.

This expansion builds on Visa's previous efforts, including the successful testing of USDC in its treasury operations and the pilot with Crypto.com, which reduced the complexity of international wire transfers. Now, Visa aims to send funds onchain to acquirers like Worldpay and Nuvei to expedite settlement times for their merchants. Additionally, Visa has added support for the high-performance Solana blockchain to enable faster and more cost-effective stablecoin transactions.

Visa's partnerships with Worldpay and Nuvei signify a significant step in embracing the potential of digital currencies and enhancing financial flexibility for businesses in an increasingly digital financial landscape.