Visa’s New Stablecoin Playbook: How Banks and Merchants Can Finally Cash In

Visa just handed traditional finance a cheat sheet for the crypto era.

The payments giant is rolling out a comprehensive advisory service—think of it as a stablecoin survival guide for banks and merchants still figuring out this whole digital asset thing. It's a clear signal: the infrastructure race is over, and the adoption sprint has begun.

Navigating the New Payment Rails

Forget vague whitepapers. Visa's move provides concrete frameworks for integrating stablecoin settlements, managing wallet infrastructure, and navigating regulatory gray areas. They're not just endorsing the technology; they're building the guardrails for mainstream money to flow onto blockchain networks.

Why This Changes Everything

This isn't about crypto bros buying pizza. It's about corporate treasuries, cross-border B2B payments, and 24/7 settlement cycles that make the traditional ACH system look like sending a telegram. Visa's stamp of legitimacy cuts through the noise, giving risk-averse institutions the cover they need to experiment.

The cynical take? It's a brilliant defensive move—capturing the advisory fees before the stablecoin networks learn to bypass the middlemen entirely. But for now, banks get a lifeline, and the entire digital asset ecosystem gets a credibility injection from a name your CFO actually recognizes. The old world is finally reading the manual.

In brief

• Visa has rolled out a stablecoin advisory service to guide financial institutions and businesses in adopting and implementing stablecoin solutions.
• The service provides guidance on practical use cases, strategic planning, and technical integration to ensure smooth adoption.
• Visa Consulting & Analytics delivers the program using its global team of consultants, analysts, and product specialists.

Visa Supports Businesses in Stablecoins

Visa’s Stablecoins Advisory Practice is designed to assist organizations amid rising stablecoin use and shifting regulatory standards. The service provides guidance on market fit, strategy, and operational implementation, enabling companies to take advantage of opportunities in this emerging sector.

The growth of the stablecoin market reinforces the need for such services. This sector has expanded significantly, now exceeding $318 billion in total value, according to CoinMarketCap, while Visa’s own settlement volume using stablecoins has reached an annualized run rate of $3.5 billion as of November 30. This growth reflects the increasing interest from businesses in adopting stablecoins to streamline payments and settlements.

Early users of Visa’s service include Navy Federal Credit Union, Pathward, and VyStar Credit Union. Matt Freeman, senior vice president at Navy Federal, indicated that stablecoins could offer faster payments and lower costs. With Visa’s support, the credit union is exploring how stablecoins could fit into its broader strategy to provide value to its 15 million members worldwide.

Services Designed for Adoption

Visa’s advisory practice draws on the expertise of its global team of consultants, analysts, and product specialists to deliver comprehensive guidance, which includes:

• Conducting training and programs on stablecoin trends, along with a Visa University course, to help organizations understand market developments and emerging opportunities.
• Assisting businesses with strategy creation, planning market entry, and evaluating potential applications to ensure stablecoin solutions align with their objectives.
• Supporting the technical integration of stablecoins into existing systems to enable smooth adoption and operational efficiency.

Visa and the Growing Stablecoin Market

This initiative builds on Visa’s ongoing efforts to advance digital payment systems. The company was among the first payment networks to test stablecoin settlement using USDC in 2023. Today, it manages more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs in over 40 countries, reflecting the company’s deepening role in the space.

Beyond Visa’s efforts, stablecoins have been increasingly adopted by consumers and institutions for payments, trading, and remittances, with clearer regulatory guidance helping to boost confidence. In the U.S., the GENIUS Act, passed in July, set out rules for issuing and supervising stablecoins, giving banks and financial technology companies stronger assurance to explore new applications.

With adoption rising and regulations providing clarity, major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, are exploring tokenized deposits to speed up both domestic and overseas settlements, while payment providers such as Visa and Stripe are evaluating stablecoins as a way to reduce costs and accelerate transactions.

In terms of future growth, the stablecoin market shows significant potential. Standard Chartered expects it could reach about $2 trillion by 2028, while Citi forecasts a base scenario of $1.9 trillion by 2030, with the potential to surge to $4 trillion under more optimistic conditions.

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