Visa has teamed up with digital asset platform Aquanow to expand its stablecoin settlement capabilities across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (Cemea) region.
Aquanow’s digital asset infrastructure has been integrated with Visa’s technology stack to let issuers and acquirers settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC.
This will help reduce costs, operational friction, and settlement times, says Canadian outfit Aquanow.
Visa became one of the first major payments networks to settle transactions in stablecoin when, in 2023, it piloted enabling clients to fulfill their settlement obligations in USDC. To date, monthly volume has passed a $2.5 billion annualised run rate.
Earlier this month, the payment giant revealed it is running pilot trials of USD-backed stablecoin payouts to creators and gig workers.
“By harnessing the power of stablecoins and pairing them with our trusted global technology, we are enabling financial institutions in Cemea to experience faster and simpler settlements,” says Godfrey Sullivan, head, product and solutions for Cemea, Visa.
Seperately, Visa has also worked with Wirex on the introduction of stablecoin settlement on the Stellar blockchain. The go-live rollout, in partnership with the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), enables on-chain settlement of card payments using USDC and EURC.