Overview
- Visa partnered with London-based BVNK to enable stablecoin-funded payouts on Visa Direct, allowing select business clients to pre-fund in digital dollars and send directly to recipients’ wallets.
- The program is running as pilots in approved markets with always-on availability, targeting use cases such as payroll, contractor payments, platform earnings, and cross-border transfers.
- BVNK provides the real-time processing and settlement infrastructure, reporting more than $30 billion in annual stablecoin payment volume, while Visa Direct handles roughly $1.7 trillion in yearly flows.
- Separately, Visa is piloting USDC settlement for U.S. banks on the Solana blockchain, citing an annualized on-chain settlement run rate above $3.5 billion as of November 2025 with early adopters Cross River Bank and Lead Bank.
- Regulatory treatment of on-chain settlement remains unresolved under the GENIUS Act framework with supervisors urging consultation, and Visa shares fell nearly 5% as investors assessed regulatory and operational risks.