Visa Launches USDC On-Chain Settlement Across U.S

Visa Inc. has officially launched USDC settlement capabilities in the United States, allowing issuer and acquirer partners to settle transactions using Circle‘s dollar-backed stablecoin for the first time. The move represents a significant expansion of Visa’s stablecoin settlement pilot program.

🚀 LATEST: VISA PLANS TO ENABLE STABLECOIN SETTLEMENT FOR U.S. INSTITUTIONS USING CIRCLE’S $USDC ON SOLANA. pic.twitter.com/SK4EJiV4fb

— Coinwaft (@coinwaft) December 16, 2025

Cross River Bank and Lead Bank are the initial banking participants. Both institutions have already begun settling with Visa in USDC over the Solana blockchain. Visa plans broader U.S. availability throughout 2026.

The settlement framework introduces seven-day availability, enhanced operational resilience across weekends and holidays, and faster funds movement over blockchains. Importantly, the consumer card experience remains unchanged.

Rubail Birwadker, Global Head of Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa, addressed the launch directly. He stated that banking partners are actively preparing to use stablecoin settlement, not merely inquiring about it.

Visa Joins Circle’s Arc Blockchain as Design Partner

Visa has also joined Circle as a design partner for Arc, a new Layer 1 blockchain currently in public testnet. The purpose-built network offers performance and scalability specifically designed to support Visa’s global commercial activity on-chain.

The payments giant plans to utilize Arc for USDC settlement within its network once the blockchain launches. Additionally, Visa intends to operate a validator node on the Arc network.

Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle, emphasized the significance of the partnership. He described bringing USDC settlement to the U.S. with Visa as a milestone for internet-native money moving at the speed of software.

The internet built an information layer, but never an economic one.

In his new @MilkRoad Show interview, Circle CPTO @chandhok shares why programmable money, open systems, and AI will define the next era of the web.

This is the conversation if you care about where the internet… pic.twitter.com/tawiKubfA7

— Circle (@circle) December 16, 2025

Circle noted that the integration helps card-issuing financial institutions modernize treasury operations and unlock new services. The arrangement maintains the transparency and trust associated with USDC as a fully reserved stablecoin.

Lead Bank CEO Jackie Reses expressed pride in being among the first U.S. banks to enable USDC settlement with Visa. She noted that the capability brings speed and precision to treasury operations.

Cross River Bank Founder and CEO Gilles Gade pointed to growing demand from fintech and crypto innovators. These clients increasingly request stablecoin integration within their existing product suites.

Gade described the need for a unified platform that natively supports both stablecoins and traditional payment networks. He called this foundation essential for how value will move globally in the future.

Meanwhile, Visa’s stablecoin settlement efforts have been building momentum internationally. The company has conducted active pilots across Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Central Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions.

As of November 30, Visa’s monthly stablecoin settlement volume passed a $3.5 billion annualized run rate. This milestone builds on Visa becoming one of the first major networks to settle transactions in stablecoin in 2023.

Expanded Multi-Chain and Multi-Coin Foundation

In July, Visa announced expanded support for additional blockchains and stablecoins in its settlement pilot. The network now supports four stablecoins across four unique blockchains.

Through a partnership with Paxos, Visa added support for Global Dollar and PayPal USD. The company also integrated Stellar and Avalanche blockchains alongside existing Ethereum and Solana support.

Circle Gateway: a new primitive enabling a unified @USDC balance instantly accessible crosschain.

Now available on testnet for @avax, @base, and @ethereum.

Mainnet launch coming soon on additional chains with a robust chain expansion roadmap.

✅ Instant Access: Tap into your… pic.twitter.com/oiKSD63fGb

— Circle (@circle) July 22, 2025

Following this expansion, Visa integrated Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin EURC. Select pilot participants can now access settlement in both USD- and EUR-backed stablecoins.

Circle Mint Delivers a Powerful Institutional Onramp to @USDC and EURC

Circle Mint now supports a near instant euro-to-USDC onramp with competitive FX rates, unlocking value for fintechs and payment service providers across the European Economic Area.

A global stablecoin… pic.twitter.com/ZPjWXrdIgV

— Circle (@circle) July 2, 2025

Birwadker stated that Visa is building a multi-coin and multi-chain foundation to meet partner needs worldwide. He emphasized that trusted, scalable, and interoperable stablecoins can fundamentally transform global money movement.

The U.S. stablecoin settlement framework specifically features seven-day settlement windows instead of the traditional five-business-day window. This improves speed and liquidity for banks and fintechs operating around the clock.

Additionally, the framework enables automated, next-generation treasury operations for bank participants. It bridges traditional payment rails with blockchain-based infrastructure through enhanced interoperability.

Visa first experimented with USDC settlement in 2021, laying the groundwork for today’s launch. The company’s mission remains to build an interoperable layer designed to make stablecoin payments work at scale globally.