US-based digital payments firm Visa has unveiled its plans to introduce a stablecoin prefunding pilot through its real-time payments platform, Visa Direct. 

The initiative, announced at SIBOS 2025, aims to expedite cross-border payments for businesses, providing a boost to liquidity and streamlining treasury operations. 

Visa said that traditional cross-border payments have relied on slow, costly systems that require substantial capital to be held in advance. 

In the pilot, Visa Direct will test stablecoins as an alternative funding source to simplify transactions, reduce frictions and provide financial institutions with greater flexibility in managing global payouts. 

According to the company, the pilot will allow businesses to pre-fund Visa Direct with stablecoins instead of fiat currency, treating stablecoins as equivalent to money in the bank. 

This approach is said to improve liquidity by freeing up capital, enabling quicker transactions, and offering a stable settlement layer that mitigates local currency volatility. 

Visa is collaborating with select partners who meet specific criteria for this pilot, with plans to expand the programme in 2026. 

The company said the initiative is part of its broader strategy to modernise cross-border payments by integrating blockchain technology with its global network. 

Visa Commercial and Money Movement Solutions president Chris Newkirk said: “Cross-border payments have been stuck in outdated systems for far too long. 

“Visa Direct’s new stablecoins integration lays the groundwork for money to move instantly across the world, giving businesses more choice in how they pay.” 

Recently, Visa has partnered with Onafriq, an African digital payments network, to launch Visa Pay in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The cloud-native Payments-as-a-Service platform will allow consumers to use mobile money services to top up Visa Pay wallets, facilitating digital and e-commerce transactions.