Visa Stablecoin Settlement Volume Tops $20B as Onchain Lending Expands

Visa is expanding its stablecoin strategy by connecting payment settlement data with blockchain-based lending infrastructure, aiming to make working capital more accessible to fintech companies and stablecoin-linked card programs.

The payments giant said Tuesday that its stablecoin settlement volume has exceeded a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing a 15-fold increase from a year earlier. Visa plans to use data from its VisaNet network alongside onchain transaction information to help lenders assess borrowers and finance settlement activity.

With customer authorization, lenders could gain visibility into a card program's settlement receivables — funds expected after transactions clear — and combine that information with blockchain records. Visa said the approach could improve credit assessment while automating parts of settlement financing through smart contracts.

The initiative comes as competition among major payment companies in the stablecoin market intensifies. Visa is reportedly searching for a new stablecoin settlement partner with licensing capabilities across multiple regions. Rivals including Mastercard and Stripe are also increasing their involvement in stablecoin payments and infrastructure.

Visa said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs currently operate across its network. Payment volume from these programs has climbed nearly 200% year over year, highlighting growing demand for cryptocurrency-linked payment products.

However, newer payment companies can face difficulties obtaining working capital through traditional financial institutions. Conventional lenders often require substantial operating histories, larger scale or lengthy manual underwriting processes before approving financing.

Visa has already tested its blockchain lending model with Credit Coop, a decentralized lending platform that uses smart contracts to automate funding, collateral management and repayments.

Since 2023, the partnership has supported more than $2.5 billion in cumulative financed settlement volume without recording a default across participating facilities. The system has also handled more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayment events programmatically onchain.

Visa's latest initiative illustrates how traditional payment networks are increasingly combining stablecoin infrastructure, blockchain lending and existing financial data as digital assets become more deeply integrated into mainstream payments.