Issuers and acquirers will now gain access to USDC to settle in stablecoins and could be incentivised with FDIC’s latest regulatory proposal.
Visa will launch USDC settlements in the US as part of its ongoing stablecoin pilot program designed to settle funds instantly.
Announced on December 16, Visa will enable US issuer and acquirer partners to settle payments in Circle’s USDC, a dollar denominated stablecoin and the second largest in market capitalisation.
Issuers will be able to move stablecoin payments on the blockchain across seven days per week. They will also be able to settle payments during weekends and holidays.
Visa’s stablecoin payments will be powered by Arc’s Layer-1 blockchain, which was co-developed by Circle. The network offers speed of settlement and scalability which affords Visa to support its issuers and acquirers to perform payments on-chain for global commerce.
Visa also intends to use Arc for USDC settlements within its network to perform a validator node, a participant which verifies a transaction on the blockchain, when Arc goes live.
Cross River Bank and Lead Bank were the initial pilot participants to settle using USDC with Visa on the Solana blockchain, with broader availability to other participants planned for next year.
“Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because our banking partners are not only asking about it – they’re preparing to use it,” said Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa.
“Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations. By bringing USDC settlement to the US, Visa is delivering a reliable, bank-ready capability that improves treasury efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance and resiliency standards our network requires.”
Visa’s stablecoin push
Providing USDC settlements for issuers and acquirers is the latest development in Visa’s push to popularise stablecoin payments.
The global card company first adopted USDC in 2021 as it became the first payment network to use the stablecoin to settle transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Visa stated at the time it was exploring digital currencies in a bid to bring “differentiated value” to the payments ecosystem.
“Bringing USDC settlement to the US with Visa is a milestone for internet native money moving at the speed of software,” said Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle.
“It helps card-issuing financial institutions modernise treasury and unlock new services while retaining the transparency and trust that USDC is known for.”
Since then, Visa has launched a range of pilot programs testing stablecoin and cryptocurrency settlements for cross-border payments.
The most recent program was announced in November 2025, where Visa revealed it will be piloting stablecoins via Visa Direct to be used to payout recipients working in various industries working in the gig economy, as well as for creators and freelancers.
Stablecoins and digital currencies are quickly becoming a predominant payment offering for Visa in its bid to become “the network of networks” outlined in its 2025 annual report.
US regulatory changes to stablecoins
Amid Visa’s announcement, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed a rule which will enable US FDIC authorised financial institutions to perform stablecoin payments via a subsidiary.
The proposal falls under Section 5 of the GENIUS Act, which mandates any insured depository institution must submit an application to its primary federal stablecoin regulator to issue stablecoin payments.
FDIC is now undergoing an application process which would enable it to evaluate the safety of applicants’ proposed stablecoin payment activities, while also aiming to reduce regulatory burdens.
This new proposal could enable future participants of Visa’s USDC stablecoin settlement program to perform such activities with a subsidiary and onboard its customers to make stablecoin payments.
