Visa Now Offers Faster Stablecoin Settlement

Visa (NYSE: V), the world’s leading digital payments company, has expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities to the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region through a new strategic partnership with Aquanow, a prominent global provider of digital asset infrastructure and liquidity solutions.

By connecting Aquanow’s advanced digital asset platform to Visa’s proven payment technology ecosystem, banks, payment processors, and acquirers across CEMEA will soon be able to settle transactions directly in regulated stablecoins like USDC. This approach significantly lowers costs, eliminates much of the operational complexity associated with traditional correspondent banking, and enables near-instant settlement—even on weekends and holidays.

Growing demand from financial institutions

The move responds to growing demand from financial institutions for faster, cheaper, and more predictable cross-border payments. Visa first pioneered live stablecoin settlements in 2023 when it began allowing select clients to meet their obligations in USDC on the Solana blockchain. Since then, the program has grown rapidly, with settled volumes now exceeding an annualized run rate of $2.5 billion per month.

Godfrey Sullivan, Visa’s Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA, commented: “Stablecoins, when combined with Visa’s secure and trusted global network, deliver a powerful upgrade to the back-end of money movement. Working with Aquanow allows institutions across the region to settle transactions more quickly and efficiently while reducing dependence on legacy systems filled with intermediaries.”

Phil Sham, CEO of Aquanow, added: “Visa has spent decades perfecting the secure and efficient movement of money worldwide. By integrating stablecoin rails, we’re giving institutions new tools to operate at internet speed and transparency, making participation in the digital economy simpler and more accessible than ever.”

This latest expansion reinforces Visa’s position at the forefront of bridging traditional finance with blockchain-based settlement solutions, offering institutions across one of the world’s most diverse and fast-growing regions a modern alternative for moving value around the globe.