Visa has moved its stablecoin-powered money movement service from pilot testing to production, allowing eligible businesses to prefund cross-border payouts with USDC through Visa Direct. The company announced the rollout on October 15, with Inyo Global becoming the first processor to bring the capability into production.
The launch gives money transmitters, fintechs, banks and payment companies another way to fund international transfers outside conventional banking hours. It also advances Visa’s efforts to integrate stablecoins into existing payment infrastructure as businesses seek more flexible ways to manage liquidity and move money across borders.
Visa Brings USDC Prefunding Into Live Payment Operations
Visa began testing stablecoin-powered prefunding for Visa Direct in 2025 to explore how digital assets could improve cross-border payouts and liquidity management. The company has now moved the capability into production through Inyo Global, allowing eligible clients to prefund payouts using USDC, a US dollar-pegged stablecoin. The rollout follows the company’s stablecoin prefunding pilot for Visa Direct, which explored how businesses could use stablecoins to fund cross-border payouts.
The integration builds on Inyo’s existing payment infrastructure, which supports customer onboarding, fraud and compliance management, payment acceptance, and domestic and international payouts across more than 180 countries through a single connection to Visa Direct.
Vira Platonova, Visa Direct’s global head, said the company was seeing its work with clients and partners translate into live implementations.
“Over the last several years, we’ve worked with several partners and clients to explore how these technologies can improve money movement. We’re now seeing those efforts translate into live implementations, helping businesses access more flexible and efficient ways to fund and move money globally through Visa Direct, starting with Inyo Global as our first enabler.”
Visa’s rollout also follows its partnership with zerohash to expand stablecoin funding and payouts for eligible Visa Direct business clients. Its partnership with zerohash aims to introduce stablecoin funding and payout options, including prefunding and direct stablecoin payouts, giving businesses additional ways to move money through Visa Direct.
Investor Takeaway
Visa Direct has moved stablecoin prefunding into production through Inyo Global, allowing eligible businesses to fund cross-border payouts with USDC around the clock.
Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement As Payment Volumes Grow
The company’s move into production comes as its stablecoin settlement operations expand. The company’s annualized stablecoin settlement volume surpassed $20 billion in September 2026, more than 15 times its level a year earlier. Visa also reported more than 160 active stablecoin-linked card programs worldwide, reflecting wider use of digital assets across payment services.
The company has also tested stablecoins for institutional transfers. Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed a live pilotthat used USDC to settle $750,000 in payment obligations, with the funds reaching Visa in under an hour, including over the weekend. The trial tested whether blockchain-based transfers could reduce delays associated with conventional banking hours.
USD Coin (USDC) ranks as the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, at approximately $72.832 billion, according to DeFiLlama data. The broader stablecoin market has a combined market capitalization of $302.922 billion.
Investor Takeaway
Visa’s annualized stablecoin settlement volume surpassed $20 billion, while its stablecoin-linked card programs and institutional settlement pilots demonstrate growing use of digital assets in payment infrastructure.