Visa Launches Pilot to Send USDC Payments Directly to Crypto Wallets

Instead of settling through banks and clearinghouses, the pilot allows companies to fund transactions in dollars and pay out directly in USD Coin (USDC) to recipients’ crypto wallets. The test was quietly launched in the United States and unveiled this week at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

For Visa, the move represents a shift from simply enabling crypto purchases to actively integrating stablecoins into its global payments ecosystem. The company says the goal is to make money move as fast as a message — borderless, instant, and accessible to everyone.

A New Model for Global Payments

Under the new system, businesses can use Visa Direct to convert fiat-funded accounts into digital payouts that land in minutes. Gig economy workers, freelancers, and creators are among the first target users — groups often frustrated by international payment delays and conversion fees.

“Access to earnings shouldn’t depend on banking hours or geography,” said Chris Newkirk, Visa’s head of money movement solutions. The pilot, he added, aims to modernize payouts for the global digital workforce.

Visa is working with a small circle of partners before expanding the service to a wider audience in 2026, with early trials already showing high demand among companies operating across borders.

Building on a Broader Blockchain Strategy

The new payout network isn’t a sudden experiment — it’s part of a steady expansion that began years ago. Over the summer, Visa broadened its blockchain settlement options by adding Global Dollar (USDG), PayPal USD (PYUSD), and Euro Coin (EURC) across Stellar and Avalanche, two major blockchain ecosystems.

Shortly after, it ran pilot programs using USDC and EURC for instant treasury transfers between corporations — tests that paved the way for the latest initiative.

The timing is strategic. The GENIUS Act, a U.S. law that recently defined the framework for stablecoin issuance and banking relationships, has given large payment processors a green light to scale these services with regulatory backing.

Competition Among Giants

Visa isn’t alone in chasing the stablecoin opportunity. Citigroup has been developing a tokenized payments network, while Western Union is testing cross-border settlements on Solana. Wall Street heavyweights like JPMorgan and Bank of America are also exploring digital deposit tokens that could one day rival public stablecoins.

Meanwhile, fintech leaders Stripe and Mastercard are investing heavily in onchain payment infrastructure, betting that the next decade of finance will be defined by programmable cash.

Stablecoins Become the Financial Backbone

Once dismissed as crypto’s dull cousin, stablecoins are now the foundation of digital finance. Their combined market capitalization has swelled past $300 billion, according to DeFiLlama, with venture capital chasing every layer of the ecosystem — from blockchain payment processors like Telcoin to data infrastructure startups like Hercle and Arx Research.

For Visa, these assets represent more than digital cash; they’re a bridge to a faster, cheaper, and more open financial system. If successful, the pilot could eventually allow any business to send a stablecoin payout just as easily as swiping a card.

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