Visa and Nium Test Seven-Day Stablecoin Settlement Across Borders

Visa has launched a pilot under Singapore's BLOOM initiative to test seven-day settlement using regulated USD and euro-backed stablecoins. The trial aims to prove that stablecoins can close the gaps left by traditional banking hours, allowing settlements on weekends and public holidays. This project marks Visa's first venture inside the framework run by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), signaling a deeper push by major payment networks to build settlement rails that never really close.

The pilot targets settlement infrastructure between institutions, not the way customers initiate transactions. Regulated stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar and the euro will be used in the trial, but Visa and Nium have not named the specific tokens involved. The goal is to establish interoperability between traditional payment networks and stablecoin rails while preserving compliance requirements.

Adeline Kim, Visa's group country manager for Regional Southeast Asia and senior vice president for Global Clients and Acquirers in Asia Pacific, framed the project as part of a broader shift in how money moves. 'The future of payments will be shaped by how different forms of money and payment networks work together for different use cases,' she said.