Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot into the United States, allowing select U.S. issuer and acquirer partners to settle VisaNet obligations using Circle’s USDC rather than only fiat currency — a step the card network framed as a milestone in upgrading the “settlement layer underpinning global commerce.”
The company said the change is designed to speed up institutional settlement flows while leaving the consumer card experience unchanged. By moving settlement onto public blockchains, Visa argued that partners can gain seven-day availability, faster funds movement and added operational resilience during weekends and holidays — areas where traditional banking windows can slow the back-office cycle.
Cross River Bank and Lead Bank are the first named U.S. participants, and have begun settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain, according to the company. Visa said broader U.S. availability is planned through 2026.
“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it — they’re preparing to use it,” said Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, adding that institutions are seeking “faster, programmable settlement options” that can fit into existing treasury operations.
What’s changing — and what isn’t
Visa positioned the U.S. rollout as an institutional plumbing upgrade rather than a new consumer-facing crypto product. Cardholders won’t see any difference at checkout, the company said, because the stablecoin rails are being applied at the settlement stage between Visa and participating financial institutions.
The company highlighted three pillars of the U.S. framework:
- Seven-day settlement windows rather than a standard five-business-day cadence
- Modernized liquidity and treasury management, including automation-friendly workflows
- Interoperability between traditional rails and blockchain infrastructure
Visa also emphasized that USDC is “fully reserved” and dollar-denominated — language aimed at reassuring regulated institutions that they’re using a stablecoin designed for predictable settlement rather than a more volatile crypto asset.
A Circle tie-up — and a bet on Arc
Alongside the U.S. settlement launch, Visa disclosed deeper technical alignment with Circle. Visa is serving as a design partner for Arc, a new Layer-1 blockchain Circle is developing and currently running in public testnet, and said it plans to use Arc for USDC settlement and operate a validator node once Arc goes live.
Circle’s Nikhil Chandhok, chief product and technology officer, called the U.S. integration “a milestone for internet native money moving at the speed of software,” arguing it can help card issuers modernize treasury and “unlock new services” while maintaining the transparency USDC is “known for.”
Why Visa says the timing works now
Visa’s announcement lands in a U.S. environment that, compared with prior years, has clearer federal direction on payment stablecoins. The GENIUS Act — “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act” — was signed into law on July 18, 2025, creating a statutory framework for regulating payment stablecoins.
Visa, for its part, framed the U.S. expansion as the next step in a multi-year pilot effort. The company said it has run stablecoin settlement pilots across multiple regions, and reported that as of Nov. 30, 2025, its monthly stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate, up from earlier phases of experimentation that began years ago.
The early U.S. bank participants leaned heavily on treasury efficiency as the near-term use case. Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank, said the capability brings “speed and precision to treasury operations.” Gilles Gade, founder and CEO of Cross River, said fintech and crypto clients increasingly want stablecoins integrated into existing product suites, and described the “unified platform” idea — stablecoins plus traditional payment networks — as foundational for how value may move globally.