Visa launches pilot project for stablecoin payments for US companies

Key points:

• Visa has launched a pilot program for payments in USDC stablecoins, funded by fiat currency.
• The project is aimed at freelancers, content creators, and companies working with international payments.
• A large-scale launch of the service is planned for 2026, after testing with selected partners.

Payment giant Visa has announced the launch of a pilot project in the United States that will allow companies and platforms to send payments in USDC stablecoins directly to recipients’ crypto wallets. The new system is aimed at freelancers, content creators, and gig economy workers who need fast, cheap international transfers.

The pilot project operates through the Visa Direct network and allows payments to be funded from fiat business accounts, including US dollars. Recipients can choose how to receive funds — in fiat or stablecoins — providing flexibility and near-instant crediting.

How the new system works

According to Visa, the pilot project allows companies to make payments in dollar-backed stablecoins from business accounts funded with fiat currency. Payments are sent directly to compatible wallets, with users required to undergo standard KYC/AML procedures.

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A limited number of companies will be partners in the pilot phase, with expansion of the program planned for the second half of 2026. Only USDC is supported in the first phase, but Visa plans to add other stablecoins in the future.

According to Chris Newkirk, Visa’s president of money movement solutions, the goal of the program is “enabling truly universal access to money in minutes – not days – for anyone, anywhere in the world.”

Why Visa is betting on stablecoins

The project is part of Visa’s broader strategy to integrate blockchain solutions into traditional payment processes. In 2024–2025, the company has already added support for Global Dollar (USDG), PayPal USD (PYUSD), and Euro Coin (EURC) on the Stellar and Avalanche blockchains.

Visa previously tested business-to-business payments using USDC and EURC, and also began collaborating with Bridge (a subsidiary of Stripe) and Yellow Card in Africa to pilot tokenized treasury solutions.

Against the backdrop of Visa’s initiatives, competitor Mastercard is also actively expanding the use of stablecoins. This spring, the company partnered with Circle, Paxos, and Nuvei to launch a project that will allow 150 million merchants on the Mastercard network to accept payments in stablecoins regardless of the buyer’s payment method.