Payments giant Visa today announced the official launch of its USDC settlement service in the United States, allowing US card issuers and acquiring partners to directly settle transactions with Visa using USDC issued by Circle. Currently, Visa has partnered with two US banks, Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, to settle transactions using USDC on Solana. As of November 30, Visa's monthly stablecoin settlement volume was approximately $3.5 billion annualized. Before press time, CRCL had risen over 7.67% in a single day, while Solana had risen slightly by 2%.
Two banks have already participated in stablecoin settlements, and Visa will be deeply involved in the Circle blockchain.
According to the announcement, the first banks to participate in Visa USDC settlement include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, both of which have begun using USDC on the Solana blockchain to settle with Visa. Visa expects to expand the service's availability in the US market by 2026.
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In addition, Visa will become a partner of Arc, a public blockchain under Circle. Arc possesses the performance and scalability required to support Visa's global on-chain business activities. Visa also plans to use Arc for USDC settlement and operate validator nodes after Arc's official launch.
Rubail Birwadker, Head of Global Growth at Visa, said, "Visa is expanding stablecoin settlements because our banking partners are not just curious about the technology, but are already preparing for practical use. Financial institutions are looking for settlement options that can be seamlessly integrated into existing operations and offer faster speeds and programmability. Bringing USDC settlements to the U.S. means that Visa is providing banks with a ready-to-use settlement capability that balances security, compliance, and resilience while improving operational efficiency."
In an interview, Rubail Birwadker stated, "This directly touches on the core of our business, which is how funds are settled into the Visa network. Now, we can extend this capability to the United States because banks have received the green light to use fully-reserve digital dollars and regulated settlement processes."
Visa analyzes three major advantages of stablecoin settlement.
Visa states that its stablecoin settlement architecture has the following characteristics:
Year-round settlement window: Banks and fintech companies can conduct settlements 24/7, breaking through the traditional five-working-day limit and improving speed and liquidity.
Modernized liquidity and vault management: supporting automation and next-generation vault operation models.
Interoperability: Connecting traditional payment systems with blockchain infrastructure.
Visa began piloting stablecoin settlements as early as 2021, and as of November 30, Visa's monthly stablecoin settlement volume was approximately $3.5 billion annualized. Visa Consulting & Analytics recently launched a Stablecoins Advisory Practice service, providing market suitability assessments and implementation strategy recommendations.
Lead Bank CEO Jackie Reses stated, "We are proud to be one of the first U.S. banks to enable USDC settlement with Visa. This capability brings speed and accuracy to vault operations and helps us provide more modern financial services to the communities we serve."
Cross River Bank emphasizes the importance of true interoperability. Founder and CEO Gilles Gade stated, "Fintech and crypto innovators are increasingly demanding the inclusion of stablecoins in their existing product portfolios. A unified platform that natively supports both stablecoins and traditional payment networks will become the foundation for global value flows. As one of the first U.S. banks to enable USDC settlement with Visa, we are demonstrating how a technology-driven and highly integrated banking partner can connect blockchain with existing systems at scale."
This article, "Visa Officially Launches USDC Stablecoin Settlement in the US, Circle (CRCL) Surges 7.67%," first appeared on ABMedia, a blockchain news platform.
