Visa has already executed live trials with issuers and acquirers, transferring millions of USDC between partners using the Solana and Ethereum blockchain networks to settle fiat-based payments authorised through VisaNet.
When consumers use Visa cards for purchases at various merchants worldwide, they often benefit from nearly instant payment authorisation. Behind the scenes, however, the funds for these transactions must traverse from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank. Visa's treasury and settlement systems play an important part in facilitating this process, handling the clearing, settlement, and movement of substantial daily transaction volumes, involving nearly 15,000 financial institutions and more than 25 global currencies according to Visa.com.
Representatives from Visa's Crypto division talked about the advantages of leveraging stablecoins such as USDC and global blockchain networks such as Solana and Ethereum in the context of improving the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for clients to send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury.
In 2021, Visa initiated tests involving the use of USDC in its treasury operations, leading to a successful pilot with Crypto.com, marking Visa as one of the first major payments networks to explore stablecoin settlements. The pilot allowed Crypto.com to streamline its settlement process for Visa card transactions in Australia by utilising USDC on the Ethereum blockchain, reducing the complexity and duration of international wire transfers.
Visa has further expanded its settlement capabilities by sending funds on-chain to acquirers such as Worldpay and Nuvei, who, in turn, can disburse these funds to their end merchants using USDC. Worldpay and Nuvei are global acquirers catering to a variety of sectors, including businesses engaged in blockchain, cryptocurrency, games, and NFT marketplaces.
To meet a growing demand for faster and more cost-effective settlement options, Visa has added support for Solana. This move allows Visa to offer its clients the choice to send or receive USDC settlement payments through Solana. Officials from Worldpay Merchant Solutions, FIS, talked about Visa's USDC settlement capability and highlighted its potential to help Worldpay bring more of its treasury operations in-house while offering merchants more choices for receiving funds.
Representatives from Nuvei cited by Visa brought up stablecoins such as USDC and described them as a cutting-edge payments technology that can enable online businesses around the world to accelerate their growth. They also mentioned that stablecoins have multiple use cases, one of which is optimising cross-border transactions.
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