Visa has taken another concrete step toward integrating stablecoins into mainstream payments, announcing a partnership with London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK that will allow businesses to fund and send payouts directly in stablecoins through Visa Direct.
The collaboration expands Visa Direct’s capabilities beyond traditional fiat rails, giving select enterprise customers the option to pre-fund payouts using stablecoins and send funds straight to recipients’ digital wallets.
Visa Direct already processes about $1.7 trillion in annual payment volume, making the move one of the most significant endorsements yet of stablecoins as a settlement layer for global payments.
According to Visa, the rollout will initially focus on approved markets where demand for digital asset payments is already strong, with broader expansion planned as customer demand grows and regulators give the green light.
Key Takeaways
- Visa is integrating stablecoin payouts into its Visa Direct network through BVNK, allowing businesses to fund and send payments directly to digital wallets.
- The partnership enables near-instant, 24/7 cross-border payouts, reducing dependence on traditional banking rails and correspondent banks.
- BVNK’s existing scale, processing over $30 billion in annual stablecoin payments, gives Visa ready infrastructure to expand regulated digital asset settlements.
- Regulatory frameworks like the U.S. GENIUS Act are shaping how payment giants support stablecoins, shifting their role toward trusted settlement and compliance layers.
Stablecoins Enter Visa’s Core Payment Rails
Visa’s global head of product for commercial and money movement solutions, Mark Nelsen, framed the partnership as a practical response to long-standing inefficiencies in cross-border payments.
“Stablecoins are an exciting opportunity for global payments,” Nelsen said, pointing to their ability to operate “during weekends, holidays, and when banks are closed.”
That always-on settlement capability is central to the appeal. Traditional payment systems often rely on correspondent banking networks that introduce delays, limited operating hours, and layered fees. Stablecoin-funded payouts, by contrast, can settle nearly instantly, regardless of time zones or banking holidays.
Under the new setup, BVNK will provide the infrastructure that allows Visa Direct to support stablecoin payouts in compliant jurisdictions.
Recipients can receive funds directly into their stablecoin wallets, typically in dollar-backed assets such as USDC, while businesses can choose whether to fund payouts using fiat or stablecoins.
From Investment to Implementation
The announcement marks a clear progression in Visa’s relationship with BVNK. In May 2025, Visa’s venture arm participated in BVNK’s $50 million Series B funding round, followed months later by a strategic investment from Citigroup. Now, Visa is actively deploying the infrastructure it backed.
BVNK already processes more than $30 billion in stablecoin payments annually, a figure that, while small compared to Visa’s overall volume, demonstrates real usage at scale. For Visa, the partnership provides a ready-made bridge between its existing payment network and blockchain-based settlement.
A BVNK spokesperson described the deal as evidence that stablecoins are moving beyond niche use cases.
The partnership is a “clear sign that stablecoins are becoming a mainstream, complementary payment rail,” the spokesperson said, adding that BVNK is working with a “limited set of Visa Direct enterprise clients,” including payment service providers, marketplaces, and platforms.
The company plans to expand to more corridors, currencies, and stablecoins as regulations and customer needs allow.
Speed Shifts the Payment Equation
Industry observers say the real impact of stablecoin payouts lies in what they remove from the payment process.
“Stablecoin payouts remove the biggest operational bottleneck in global payment, which is time,” said Jayanand Sagar, co-founder of Hyperbola Network.
“When value can move instantly, 24/7, the traditional advantage of banking systems shifts away from speed and efficiency toward compliance and trust.”
That shift reframes the competition. Banks and payment networks are no longer racing to be faster than blockchains; instead, they are positioning themselves as trusted gateways that sit on top of new rails.
Brian Mehler, CEO of Stable, echoed that view, arguing that distribution alone won’t determine which stablecoins succeed.
Payment networks may influence adoption, he said, but the deciding factor will be “whether the underlying infrastructure can deliver predictable fees, deterministic settlement, and the operational reliability institutions need.”
Regulation Shapes the Playing Field
Visa’s move also comes as regulatory frameworks for stablecoins begin to solidify, particularly in the United States. The GENIUS Act establishes federal standards for payment stablecoins, narrowing the range of tokens that large payment networks can legally support.
According to Axis COO Jimmy Xue, this has changed the role of companies like Visa.
Their power, he said, is now “tethered to federal standards,” shifting their influence from picking token winners to defining the “invisible plumbing” of global finance, where institutional trust and fraud protection matter more than brand recognition.
Visa has already been testing these waters. Last November, the company began piloting stablecoin wallet payouts, allowing fiat-denominated payments to settle in dollar-pegged stablecoins. Wider access to those services is expected in the second half of 2026, depending on local regulations.
Why It Matters
For businesses, especially platforms paying creators, freelancers, and cross-border partners, stablecoin payouts offer a way to bypass slow settlement cycles and currency friction. Visa’s own research shows that a majority of creators want faster access to funds, something traditional banking systems still struggle to provide consistently.
For recipients in regions with limited access to dollar banking, receiving USD-backed stablecoins directly into a wallet can be a meaningful upgrade.
The BVNK partnership doesn’t replace Visa’s existing rails, but it adds a new option alongside them. As regulatory clarity improves, Visa appears intent on making stablecoins a standard part of its payment toolkit rather than an experimental side project.
For now, the rollout remains limited. But by plugging stablecoins directly into Visa Direct, Visa is signaling that blockchain-based settlement is no longer just adjacent to global payments—it’s being wired into the system itself.
