Visa USDC settlement expands to U.S. banks after $3.5 billion stablecoin pilot

Major U.S. banks and fintechs are gaining new on-chain settlement options as Visa USDC capabilities move from pilot to wider deployment in the American market.

Visa extends USDC settlement to U.S. banking partners

Credit card giant Visa is rolling out USDC settlement in the United States, allowing issuer and acquirer partners to discharge obligations to the card network using Circle‘s dollar-pegged stablecoin over public blockchains.

The initiative represents the U.S. phase of Visa’s stablecoin settlement program, which reached a $3.5 billion annualized run rate as of Nov. 30, according to a press release published on Tuesday. Moreover, the company is positioning the service as a way to modernize traditional card settlement without changing the consumer-facing experience.

The new option is designed to give banks and fintechs near-instant funds movement, seven-day-a-week settlement and more predictable liquidity around weekends and holidays. However, cardholders will continue to transact as usual, with the blockchain-based rails operating behind the scenes.

Early U.S. participants and Solana integration

Initial participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which are already settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain. This first wave of adopters provides a proving ground for how traditional institutions can integrate stablecoin-based settlement into existing treasury and payments workflows.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to assets such as fiat currencies or gold, and they underpin much of the crypto economy by serving as payment rails and tools for cross-border transfers. Tether’s USDT remains the largest stablecoin by market value, followed by Circle’s USDC, which Visa is using for this settlement program.

That said, the company expects to extend access to more U.S. partners through 2026 and is encouraging interested clients to coordinate through their account teams as availability expands. This phased rollout suggests Visa is balancing demand for blockchain-based settlement with regulatory and operational considerations in the U.S. market.

Visa doubles down on stablecoin strategy

“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking for it