Visa has announced a pilot project that will allow financial institutions and businesses to use stablecoins to pre-fund accounts for international payouts.
The initiative, unveiled at SIBOS 2025, is part of ongoing efforts to test alternatives to traditional cross-border funding models that often involve delays and tie up capital in advance. The pilot introduces the use of stablecoins as a funding source for Visa Direct, the company’s real-time payments platform. Instead of depositing fiat currency in advance, participating banks and payment providers will be able to pre-fund transactions using stablecoins, which Visa will treat as available balances for payouts. It’s worth noting that recipients will continue to receive local currency.
According to Visa officials, existing cross-border systems remain slow and costly, creating inefficiencies in how institutions manage liquidity. By using stablecoins, the pilot aims to make funding more immediate, reduce exposure to currency fluctuations and increase predictability in treasury operations. A representative noted that the trial aims to demonstrate how digital assets could support faster settlement while giving businesses more options in how they manage payments.
The programme is initially being tested with a small group of partners, with more general availability expected in 2026.
Potential impact on liquidity and payment systems
Supporters of the pilot highlight that stablecoin prefunding could reduce the need for institutions to lock away large amounts of fiat in advance of cross-border transfers, helping to keep capital in circulation. Transactions that typically take days could instead be processed in minutes, potentially reshaping liquidity management strategies.
The pilot builds on Visa’s wider exploration of blockchain-based payment solutions, following earlier initiatives in programmable money and settlement. Whether stablecoins can be integrated securely and at scale remains a central question as the company continues its trials with regulated partners.
