Visa Tests Stablecoin Settlement for Cross-Border Payments in Singapore Pilot

Visa has joined Singapore's BLOOM initiative to test stablecoin settlement for cross-border payments. The pilot, led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will use regulated USD and euro-backed stablecoins to settle payment obligations seven days a week.

The pilot is Visa's first partner under the BLOOM framework, which includes Circle, DBS, OCBC, Partior, Stripe, and UOB. The two companies aim to reduce delays in traditional settlement tied to banking days and give financial institutions faster access to funds.

Visa already operates stablecoin settlement infrastructure across nine blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, with an annualized run rate of around $7 billion as of April. The company's CEO, Ryan McInerney, described its stablecoin approach as 'multi-coin, multi-chain,' stating that Visa does not plan to back a single stablecoin.

Nium, the first partner under the BLOOM framework, has integrated USDC payouts via Coinbase and allows businesses to fund payouts using USDC and settle in either stablecoins or local currencies.