Visa Launches USDC Settlement for U.S. Banks

Global payments giant Visa announced yesterday, December 16, that it is launching USDC settlements in the United States. According to the company’s statement, this is a major milestone for the stablecoin settlement pilot program and strategy to modernize its settlement layer underpinning global commerce.

Visa Brings USDC Settlements To The US

This is a major move, not only for Visa, but for the future of payments, as it marks the first theme that the US issuer and acquirer partners can settle with Visa in Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) – the crypto industry’s second-largest stablecoin by market cap.

The coin is fully reserved and dollar-denominated, and thanks to USDC settlements, issuers will be able to benefit from much faster funds movement over blockchain. Not only that, but stablecoins like USDC provide seven-day availability, as well as enhanced operational resilience across weekends and holidays, which are periods when traditional banking is off limits, especially when it comes to international transfers.

According to Visa’s statement, initial banking participants include Cross River Bank and Lead Bank, which have started settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain. Moving forward, broader availability in the US is planned through 2026.

Furthermore, Visa used the opportunity to note that it is a design partner for Arc, a new Layer-1 blockchain developed by Circle, which is currently still in its public testnet stage.

Arc features a purpose-built design that offers both performance and scalability necessary to help support Visa’s global commercial activity on the blockchain. The company also intends to use Arc for USDC settlement within its network and to operate a validator node once the project goes live on the mainnet.

USDC Settlements Come After Years of Experimenting and Collaboration

Commenting on the move, Visa’s Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships. Rubail Birwadker, said that Visa is expanding stablecoin settlements due to interest from its banking partners. He said that they are not only asking about it, but preparing to use it.

“Financial institutions are looking for faster, programmable settlement options that integrate seamlessly with their existing treasury operations. By bringing USDC settlement to the U.S., Visa is delivering a reliable, bank‑ready capability that improves treasury efficiency while maintaining the security, compliance, and resiliency standards our network requires,” Birwadker added.

Visa’s introduction of stablecoin settlements comes after years of the company’s active stablecoin settlement pilots across the globe, including in several countries in LAC, Europe, AP, and CEMEA. Its first experiments with USDC settlements started in 2021, and Circle’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Nikhil Chandhok, said that rolling out USDC settlements to the US represents a major milestone for internet native money.

“It helps card-issuing financial institutions modernize treasury and unlock new services while retaining the transparency and trust that USDC is known for.”