Visa announced Tuesday that it will begin pilot testing a new system enabling businesses to make international payments using stablecoins, eliminating the need to pre-fund local accounts.
The initiative reflects increasing adoption of digital tokens by large companies, encouraged in part by the U.S. passage of the Genius Act, which established clear regulatory guidelines for stablecoin issuers.
Mark Nelsen, head of product for Visa’s commercial and money movement solutions, shared in an interview with Reuters, “The Genius Act changed everything. It made everything so much more legitimate. Before that regulatory clarity, all the big institutions were sort of on the fence.”
The company said it is collaborating with several undisclosed partners and aims to broaden the pilot program next year.
READ: US Senate passes crypto legislation to regulate stablecoins (June 12, 2025)
The pilot program will let banks, remittance companies, and other financial institutions fund accounts using stablecoins rather than conventional currencies. Analysts say this approach could speed up cross-border payments and reduce the need for companies to tie up cash in multiple currencies around the world.
Stablecoins are digital assets engineered to maintain a steady value, typically supported by traditional assets like the U.S. dollar or government securities. Their ability to facilitate faster cross-border payments has raised concerns that stablecoins could challenge the market share of certain payment providers and regional banks.
“Stablecoins are moving from crypto gimmick to financial plumbing. It’s one of the reasons we launched an inverse regional bank exchange-traded fund as I think the regionals are in trouble,” said Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, referring to a fund structured to gain value when regional bank stocks fall.
Visa’s pilot underscores how established players are prioritizing collaboration over competition, using stablecoins to strengthen their existing payment networks.
READ: Trump’s stablecoin powers $2 billion crypto deal with Binance (May 2, 2025)
“The amount of software and technology that’s been deployed globally for payments is hard to recreate. So it seems more likely to just incorporate stablecoin technology into existing flows,” Nelsen said, by Reuters.
The GENIUS Act, signed by President Trump earlier this year is the first major U.S. law to regulate stablecoins, a type of digital money. The law requires companies issuing stablecoins to back them fully with real assets like dollars or government bonds and to share monthly reports showing what they hold.
It also stops firms from making false claims about government support and ensures users have priority if a company runs into trouble. The goal is to protect consumers, keep the financial system stable, and strengthen the U.S. dollar’s role worldwide.
The Act is encouraging a growing number of companies and financial institutions to explore stablecoin-based payments. OKX has rolled out a service in Singapore enabling payments at GrabPay merchants using stablecoins, while retail giants like Walmart and Amazon are reportedly weighing their own stablecoin initiatives. The law’s regulatory clarity is giving businesses the confidence to modernize payment systems and experiment with digital currencies on a larger scale.
