Visa is pioneering a significant shift in digital payments with a new pilot program that uses stablecoins to send funds directly to creators’ and freelancers’ digital wallets. This initiative, announced at the Web Summit, aims to transform cross-border payouts by making them near-instantaneous.
A Closer Look at the New Payout Pilot
The new Visa Direct pilot allows businesses in the U.S. to fund payouts in their usual fiat currency, while recipients can choose to receive those funds directly in a USD-backed stablecoin, starting with Circle’s USDC. This approach is designed to provide “truly universal access to money in minutes – not days” for creators, freelancers, and gig workers across the globe, especially those in regions with limited banking access or volatile local currencies.
For recipients, the requirement is straightforward: they need a compatible stablecoin wallet and must pass standard know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) checks. This pilot builds on a separate September announcement where Visa enabled businesses to pre-fund their payout corridors using stablecoins, a back-end treasury innovation. The new phase completes the journey by putting digital dollars directly into the end-user’s wallet.
The Strategic Shift Behind the Move
This pilot is a key part of Visa’s broader strategy to embed itself within the growing digital asset ecosystem. The company has reported facilitating over $140 billion in total crypto and stablecoin flows since 2020, with spending on stablecoin-linked Visa cards quadrupling in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year.
The timing coincides with regulatory tailwinds, particularly the passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act, which has established a clearer federal framework for stablecoins. Furthermore, Visa has been building a multi-chain foundation to support this future, adding compatibility with blockchains like Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche, and expanding the number of supported stablecoins, including the euro-backed EURC. This technical groundwork is crucial for ensuring these new payment flows can operate at a global scale.
Direct Impacts and Emerging Opportunities
The immediate benefit of this model is a dramatic increase in speed and a reduction in friction for cross-border payments. For a freelancer or creator, this means access to earnings within minutes rather than waiting days, which can be transformative for cash flow.
This initiative also introduces a new level of transparency, as every transaction is permanently logged on the blockchain, aiding in auditability and compliance. For businesses and financial institutions, this efficient movement of value can modernize treasury operations, unlocking liquidity that was previously tied up in slow, multi-day settlement processes.
On the Horizon for Digital Payments
Visa has plans for a broader rollout of the stablecoin payout pilot in the second half of 2026, pending client demand and regulatory developments. While the company has not committed to issuing its own stablecoin, a spokesperson noted that in this ecosystem, “it’s hard to rule anything out”, indicating a flexible and ambitious approach to the future of money movement.
This move by a payments giant signals a maturing phase for stablecoins, shifting their primary use case from crypto trading to solving real-world problems in global business and creator payouts. It represents a significant step toward a more integrated financial landscape where traditional banking rails and public blockchain networks work in concert.
