Visa launched USDC settlement for US financial institutions, starting with Cross River and Lead Bank on Solana, with a wider rollout planned for 2026.
News
Payment processing giant Visa has launched USDC settlement services for some United States-based financial institutions.
Visa Tuesday that its USDC () settlement service is available for US financial institutions, with Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as the first participants; they have already begun settling with Visa in USDC on the Solana blockchain, and a broader rollout is expected in 2026.
The report follows USDC issuer Circle’s launch of the public testnet for its layer-1 blockchain Arc, with over , Mastercard, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, in late October. Visa noted that it is a design partner for the network, which “offers the performance and scalability needed to help support Visa’s global commercial activity.”
Visa said it plans to use Arc for USDC settlements within its network and operate a network node. The payment giant’s global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, Rubail Birwadker, said “financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations.”
Visa said the US launch is part of a larger effort to modernize its settlement infrastructure. Birwadker’s comments suggest that adopting is a way for the company to ensure it remains relevant when stablecoins gain a more substantial foothold. He said, “Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because [its] banking partners are not only asking about it — they’re preparing to use it.”
Visa appears to be taking an active role in helping financial institutions adopt stablecoins for their operations. On Monday, the company , a unit tasked explicitly with helping banks, merchants and fintechs design, roll out and manage stablecoin products.
Related:
On Nov. 27, Visa announced it had in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa by partnering with crypto infrastructure company Aquanow. The partnership aims “to settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC, reducing costs, operational friction, and settlement times.”
Visa cited strong demand from banks and payment companies as the reason behind the initiative. Still, not all Visa stablecoin products are institution-facing services.
On Nov. 12, Visa launched a pilot in the US, allowing US dollar-pegged to be sent from business accounts funded using fiat currency. Visa said it is in the process of onboarding “select partners,” and broader access to the service will be rolled out in 2026.
Related:
