Visa Brings USDC Settlements to US Banks, Wider Rollout Set for 2026
What Has Visa Rolled Out for USDC Settlement?
Visa has begun offering USDC settlement services to selected United States financial institutions, marking its first domestic rollout of on-chain settlement inside its network. Cross River Bank and Lead Bank are the first participants and have already begined settling payments with Visa in USDC on the Solana blockchain. The company said a broader expansion is planned for 2026.
The launch follows Circle’s release of the public testnet for Arc, its upcoming layer-1 blockchain built with input from Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs. Visa said it is a design partner for Arc and plans to settle USDC transactions on the network while also operating a node. Arc is built to support high-volume financial operations, a requirement for Visa’s commercial activity.
Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of , said that “financial institutions are looking for quicker, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations.” His comments reflect a growing shift among banks that want settlement tools that run continuously rather than depend on batch-based systems.
Investor Takeaway
Why Is Visa Building a Stablecoin Infrastructure Now?
Visa said the US rollout is part of a long-term plan to upgrade the way value moves through its network. Stablecoin settlement gives banks and fintechs access to near-instant clearing without relying on traditional intermediaries. Birwadker framed the expansion as a response to direct demand: “Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement because [its] banking partners are not only asking about it — they’re preparing to use it.”
The company has been preparing for this shift for several years. It ran ahead USDC settlement pilots in 2021, tested on-chain settlement windows and worked with multiple blockchains to refine performance requirements. The move to Solana and the planned transition to Circle’s Arc reflects an effort to reach higher throughput and lower latency than is possible on older networks.
Visa also launched a Stablecoins Advisory Practice this week to assist banks, merchants and fintech companies design and manage stablecoin products. The group will assist with compliance, technical integration and operational planning — a sign that Visa expects stablecoin-related services to appear in more .
How Does This Fit into Visa’s Global Strategy?
Visa is expanding stablecoin settlement far beyond the United States. On Nov. 27, the company said it extended stablecoin settlement to Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa through a partnership with Aquanow. That collaboration allows Visa to “settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC” while lowering cross-border settlement friction.
The company said demand is coming from banks and payment firms that view stablecoins as a practical way to and speed up movement of funds across borders and time zones. The ability to settle continuously — including weekends and holidays — is one of the largegest drivers of interest.
Not all of Visa’s stablecoin initiatives are institution-facing. On Nov. 12, the company launched a US pilot allowing stablecoin payouts to user wallets from business accounts funded in fiat currency. Visa said it is onboarding “select partners” now, with broader access targeted for 2026.
Investor Takeaway
What Does This Mean for Banks and Payment Firms?
The first US participants — Cross River Bank and Lead Bank — are both active in digital-asset partnerships, including stablecoin-related services and integrations with fintech platforms. Their involvement suggests that institutions already working with to become part of their treasury operations.
The ability to settle in USDC gives banks a way to reconcile transactions quicker than traditional methods allow, while keeping reporting and reconciliation inside existing tools. For fintechs, the model removes layers of intermediaries and makes global settlement more predictable.
Visa’s decision to operate an Arc network node indicates that it expects settlement volumes to grow. Running a node gives the company direct visibility into settlement performance and reduces reliance on external infrastructure.
If the 2026 rollout proceeds as planned, the combined impact of USDC settlement, Arc integration and the advisory program could anchor stablecoins inside mainstream payment flows in a way earlier pilots did not achieve. For financial institutions, this represents an entry point into on-chain settlement without abandoning traditional systems.
