Key Takeaways
- Visa has broadened its stablecoin settlement capabilities in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa through a new partnership with Aquanow.
- The collaboration lets banks and payment firms in the region settle transactions in approved stablecoins such as USDC, aiming to cut costs and shorten settlement times.
- Visa’s stablecoin pilot, launched in 2023, has grown to a monthly volume running at more than two and a half billion dollars on an annualized basis.
- Executives from both companies say the move modernizes the underlying rails of the payment system and gives institutions clearer access to the digital asset economy.
Visa has expanded its stablecoin-based settlement operations across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) through a new partnership with digital asset infrastructure firm Aquanow.
According to a Reuters report, the arrangement will bring Aquanow’s liquidity tools and blockchain infrastructure into Visa’s existing technology systems, giving banks and payment processors in the CEMEA region access to faster clearing of transactions by allowing them to settle in approved stablecoins such as USDC.
Visa said rising demand among financial institutions for all-day settlement and cheaper international transfers has accelerated the push toward using tokenized money. This approach is intended to cut costs and reduce the operational layers typically involved in cross-border transfers.
Godfrey Sullivan, Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA at Visa, said the shift toward digital tokens is intended to streamline the plumbing of the payment system and reduce reliance on older settlement channels that depend on several intermediaries. He added that pairing stablecoins with Visa’s infrastructure would allow institutions to settle every day of the year.
Aquanow chief executive Phil Sham said the partnership allows financial firms to take part more directly in the digital asset economy, describing stablecoins as a tool that brings internet-level speed and transparency to settlement processes.
Visa’s Push into Blockchain & Crypto Settlement
Visa’s shift toward blockchain and digital assets has unfolded gradually, starting with small trials and evolving into a wider effort to modernize its settlement systems.
Visa’s interest in digital assets took a clearer shape in 2021, when it teamed up with industry partners to study crypto payment flows and to see whether blockchain could complement its traditional settlement systems.
A major step followed in 2023, when Visa launched a stablecoin settlement pilot using USDC on public blockchains, such as Ethereum and Solana. The program involved major acquirers, including Worldpay and Nuvei, and tested whether tokenized dollars could serve as a reliable tool for settling obligations between Visa and its partners.
The pilot showed strong results, and transaction volumes steadily increased, eventually reaching a monthly pace that translated into more than 2.5 billion dollars annually.
In the years that followed, Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement capabilities beyond select partners, extending access to additional markets as financial institutions sought faster, lower-cost cross-border settlement options and more flexible operating hours.
Read More: Klarna Bank Picks Stripe-backed Tempo for Its First Stablecoin as It Expands Into Digital Assets
