Visa Joins Singapore's BLOOM Initiative with Nium for Stablecoin Settlement Trial

Visa has joined Singapore's BLOOM initiative to explore stablecoin-based payment settlement. The company is collaborating with cross-border payment platform Nium for this trial, which aims to evaluate whether regulated digital currencies can facilitate continuous payment settlement throughout the week.

The program, spearheaded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will test the use of stablecoins pegged to USD and euros in settlement operations. This is a key area of focus for Visa, which currently operates stablecoin settlement infrastructure across nine different blockchain platforms with an annualized transaction flow of approximately $7 billion.

Nium's integration into the BLOOM framework builds upon its previous implementation of USDC disbursements through Coinbase, enabling international payments across over 190 nations. The trial will focus on eliminating traditional banking schedules' restrictions and providing financial institutions with accelerated fund availability.