Visa Expands Stablecoin Experiment with Solana, Worldpay, and Nuvei Partnerships

Visa announced its expansion of a stablecoin experiment to include new partners, such as the Solana blockchain, as well as merchant processors Worldpay and Nuvei, reports PaymentsDive.

Visa revealed that it had previously utilized the Solana blockchain, in addition to its existing partner Ethereum, to settle substantial amounts of USD Coins in fiat currencies through its VisaNet cross-border system. USD Coin is a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar, with its standards established by the Centre Consortium.

This new initiative builds upon Visa's efforts that were initiated in 2021, aiming to settle transactions with a digital stablecoin using Ethereum and the Crypto.com platform. The San Francisco-based company, which operates the largest credit card network in the United States, is focused on modernizing cross-border payments by venturing into digital currencies with the goal of making these transactions quicker and more cost-effective.

Visa's Crypto Head, Cuy Sheffield, stated in the release, "By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we're enhancing the speed of cross-border settlements and offering a contemporary solution for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa's treasury."

While card networks had previously shown strong interest in the crypto space, their enthusiasm appeared to wane over the past year due to increased scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed lawsuits against major crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance in June. Visa's new partnerships in this field indicate that the payments industry still perceives opportunities in blockchain technology, particularly for cross-border payments and commerce.

By collaborating with prominent merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei, Visa aims to attract businesses from various sectors to utilize its digital payment processing services. Notably, the card company highlighted that crypto on-ramp providers, gaming operators, and NFT marketplaces may find it advantageous to conduct transactions in stablecoins for the card payments they accept. Visa is also in partnership with Circle, a co-founder of the Centre Consortium, which was established in 2018 along with digital platform operator Coinbase. Centre Consortium serves as the governing body for USDC.