Visa has delved further into how stablecoins can complement existing payment infrastructure by joining an initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Visa has announced its involvement in BLOOM, which stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. The initiative gathers financial institutions and payments companies to test new settlement models.
Adeline Kim, Group Country Manager for Regional Southeast Asia and SVP, Global Clients & Acquirers, Asia Pacific at Visa, said the scheme would allow the company to explore flexibility in settlement while preserving the “security, resilience and compliance standards that underpin global commerce.”
BLOOM concentrates on interoperability between existing payment infrastructure and stablecoin rails, with participants looking at how the technology can increase the speed and flexibility of money movement.
Different markets are carrying out similar experiments. Earlier this month, the Bank of England moved into phase two of its Digital Pound Lab, which explores how stablecoins and a potential digital pound could operate together.
Visa and Nium test seven-day settlement
As part of Visa’s involvement in BLOOM, the payments company has selected Nium as its first partner for a stablecoin settlement pilot.
According to a press release, the pilot will test whether regulated stablecoins backed by major currencies, including the US dollar and euro, can settle payments seven days a week, including weekends and public holidays.
Traditional settlement processes are tied to banking hours and business days, meaning payments can be delayed outside those windows.
Visa and Nium will see whether stablecoins can reduce delays and provide participating financial institutions faster access to funds. This could improve access to working capital for businesses by reducing the time between a payment being sent and settled.
The technology has attracted particular interest in cross-border payments, where moving money can involve several intermediaries and different banking hours across jurisdictions.
“We’re building foundational infrastructure for seamless interoperability between traditional and stablecoin-based rails,” said Amaresh Mohan, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at Nium.
“This convergence is not only inevitable, it’s essential. By bringing together the security and trust of established payment networks with the efficiency and programmability of digital currencies, we unlock real value for financial institutions and their customers.”
Visa builds stablecoin presence in Singapore
The BLOOM pilot adds to Visa’s stablecoin activity in Singapore, where MAS has spent several years developing rules and industry projects around digital assets.
Singapore regulates digital payment token services under its Payment Services Act and MAS has developed a dedicated framework for eligible single-currency stablecoins issued locally and pegged to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies.
Kim has a prominent role in Visa’s activity in the region following the announcement of her expanded role. In June. The company placed her in charge of its business across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, in addition to her existing Global Clients & Acquirers remit in Asia Pacific.
She previously served as Visa’s Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei and has spent more than 14 years with the company across product, data, risk and country management roles.
Her promotion came shortly before Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP) in July.
The platform provides financial institutions, fintechs and other payment providers access to stablecoin infrastructure, initially supporting Open USD. VSP includes tools for storing, moving, minting and redeeming stablecoins, as well as wallet infrastructure.
Announcing the platform on LinkedIn, Kim described it as “another step towards making digital currencies easier for financial institutions to integrate into real-world payment and treasury workflows.”
She added: “The opportunity isn’t simply about a new form of money. It’s about enabling greater interoperability between traditional financial systems and digital assets – unlocking faster settlement, more efficient cross-border payments and new programmable payment experiences.”
