Visa Expands Stablecoin Strategy with Blockchain Lending

Payment giant Visa is connecting its settlement network with onchain lending, giving stablecoin-linked card programs another way to access working capital, potentially expanding the role of onchain lending from crypto markets into payment settlement.

The company announced Tuesday that settlement data from VisaNet will be combined with blockchain-based lending infrastructure, allowing lenders to finance payment obligations using data from the Visa network. The initiative enables lenders to use Visa settlement records alongside onchain transaction data to assess borrowers and finance their settlement obligations.

Visa highlighted Credit Coop, a blockchain-based protocol that extends credit lines to businesses, as an early example of the model. Credit Coop has financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023 across participating facilities, involving more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayments.

Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and partnerships, said stablecoins are “changing how money moves” and creating opportunities to rethink the financial infrastructure supporting payments.

The initiative comes as Visa’s stablecoin-related payment business expands. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now operate on its network, with payment volume up nearly 200% year over year. Visa also said its stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times year-ago levels.

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Visa deepens its stablecoin push

Visa has made stablecoins a growing part of its payments strategy, with management saying during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call in July that the company is “investing in each layer of the stablecoin stack,” including blockchains, wallets, infrastructure and applications.

The push includes joining the OpenStandard consortium, which plans to issue the OpenUSD stablecoin and counts Stripe among more than 140 participating businesses.

Visa’s expansion also comes as stablecoin activity continues to grow. Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion in June, while volume over the past 30 days stands at roughly $1.2 trillion, according to Visa’s analytics dashboard.

Related: Visa works with Upbit parent on stablecoin payments, AI commerce