Visa Inc. (V) announced the launch of USDC stablecoin settlement in the United States, allowing U.S. issuer and acquirer partners to settle transactions using Circle’s USDC stablecoin for the first time.
The payment network said its monthly stablecoin settlement volume reached a $3.5 billion annualized run rate as of November 30. Cross River Bank and Lead Bank have begun settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain as initial participants.
The USDC settlement framework offers seven-day settlement windows compared to traditional five-business-day operations, enabling banks and financial technology companies to settle transactions throughout weekends and holidays. The system aims to provide faster funds movement over blockchains while maintaining existing consumer card experiences.
“Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations,” said Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa.
Visa also announced its role as a design partner for Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain developed by Circle currently in public testnet. The company plans to utilize Arc for USDC settlement and operate a validator node once the blockchain goes live.
Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank, said the capability “brings speed and precision to treasury operations.” Gilles Gade, CEO of Cross River Bank, noted that “fintech and crypto innovators increasingly ask us to bring stablecoins into their existing product suite.”
Visa has conducted stablecoin settlement pilots across several countries in Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Central Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. The company became one of the first major networks to settle transactions in stablecoins in 2023.
Broader availability in the U.S. is planned through 2026, according to the company’s press release.