Visa is further expanding its involvement in stablecoins by integrating support for five additional blockchain networks, adopting a multichain strategy for international payments. The company announced on Wednesday that its stablecoin settlement pilot program now covers nine networks and has achieved an annualized transaction volume of $7 billion, representing a 50% increase from the previous quarter. This program enables issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than traditional banking systems.
The newly supported blockchain networks include Coinbase's Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle's Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo, which join the existing integrations with Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar. As stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of fiat currencies, gain popularity for cross-border money transfers, Visa is testing this model through pilots and regional launches, including the use of USDC for settlement in card programs across over 50 countries. By utilizing blockchain-based dollars, partners can settle transactions in near real-time, eliminating the need to wait several days for funds to clear through traditional banking channels.
By supporting multiple networks, Visa aims to provide its partners with access to various liquidity pools without added complexity. According to Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, 'Our partners are developing solutions in a multi-chain environment and expect their options to reflect this reality. By expanding our stablecoin settlement pilot program to more blockchains, our partners can select the networks that best suit their needs while relying on Visa to provide a unified settlement layer across all of them.'