Visa has announced the launch of USDC settlement in the United States, marking a major milestone in its stablecoin settlement pilot and its broader effort to modernize the settlement layer that underpins global commerce. For the first time, U.S.-based issuer and acquirer partners can now settle directly with Visa using USDC, the fully reserved, dollar-denominated stablecoin issued by Circle.
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The introduction of USDC settlement allows participating banks to benefit from faster fund movement over blockchain networks, seven-day settlement availability, and improved operational resilience across weekends and holidays all without changing the consumer card experience. Initial participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which have begun settling Visa transactions in USDC using the Solana blockchain. Visa plans to expand availability to more U.S. partners through 2026.
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Visa also revealed it is serving as a design partner for Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain developed by Circle that is currently in public testnet. Arc is being built to support the performance, scalability, and reliability required for large-scale commercial activity onchain. Visa plans to use Arc for USDC settlement within its network and intends to operate a validator node once the blockchain goes live.
According to Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships, the move reflects growing readiness among banking partners to adopt stablecoin settlement in production environments. He noted that financial institutions are seeking faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with existing treasury operations, and that Visa’s U.S. USDC settlement capability delivers efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance, and resiliency standards expected of the Visa network.
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The U.S. launch builds on Visa’s broader global experience with stablecoin settlement. Over the past several years, the company has run pilots across Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and CEMEA. As of late November, Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate, underscoring growing institutional adoption. Earlier this year, Visa also expanded support for additional blockchains and stablecoins to give partners more flexibility in how they settle VisaNet obligations.
Circle emphasized that bringing USDC settlement to the U.S. represents an important step toward making internet-native money usable at institutional scale. Circle’s Chief Product and Technology Officer said the collaboration enables card-issuing financial institutions to modernize treasury operations and unlock new services while preserving the transparency and trust that USDC is known for.
Early banking partners highlighted the operational benefits of always-on settlement. Lead Bank noted that seven-day settlement and clearer liquidity timing are increasingly critical for fintech clients and community banking customers alike. Cross River Bank echoed the importance of interoperability, pointing to rising demand from fintech and crypto innovators to integrate stablecoins alongside traditional payment rails. By supporting both within a unified framework, the bank sees stablecoin settlement as a foundation for how value will move globally at scale.
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