Visa Pilots Stablecoin Prefunding with USDC, EURC

Visa launched a pilot on its Visa Direct real-time payouts platform that lets banks, remittance firms and other businesses prefund cross-border payouts with stablecoins, with the network treating those tokens as available balances to back payments. Bloomberg and The Block report Circle’s USDC and EURC are the first stablecoins in the pilot, which is being tested with select (unnamed) partners. Visa says the program is intended to cut prefunding friction, unlock liquidity and speed settlement from days to minutes, with limited availability targeted by April 2026 and broader expansion around 2026. The company framed the effort as a treasury upgrade aided by U.S. regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act, is pairing its network with programmable blockchain rails, and has not ruled out issuing its own stablecoin. Visa says recipients will still be paid in local currency, and industry observers note incumbents are integrating blockchain rails even as regulators and some banks warn stablecoins could disrupt existing payment systems.