Visa Connects Settlement Network With Onchain Lending

Visa is linking its settlement network with onchain lending, creating another way for stablecoin-linked card programs to access working capital and potentially broadening onchain lending beyond crypto markets into payment settlement. The company announced Tuesday that settlement data from VisaNet will be combined with blockchain-based lending infrastructure, allowing lenders to finance payment obligations using data from the Visa network. According to Cointelegraph, the initiative lets lenders use Visa settlement records together with onchain transaction data to evaluate borrowers and fund their settlement obligations. Visa pointed to Credit Coop, a blockchain-based protocol that extends credit lines to businesses, as an early example of the model. Credit Coop has financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023 across participating facilities, with more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayments. Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and partnerships, said stablecoins are “changing how money moves” and are creating opportunities to rethink the financial infrastructure that supports payments. Visa’s stablecoin-related payment business is also expanding. More than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs now operate on its network, and payment volume is up nearly 200% year over year. Visa said its stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times year-ago levels. The company has made stablecoins a larger part of its payments strategy, with management saying during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call in July that it is “investing in each layer of the stablecoin stack,” including blockchains, wallets, infrastructure and applications. That effort includes joining the OpenStandard consortium, which plans to issue the OpenUSD stablecoin and includes Stripe among more than 140 participating businesses. Visa’s expansion comes as stablecoin activity continues to rise. Adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.79 trillion in June, while volume over the past 30 days stands at roughly $1.2 trillion, according to Visa’s analytics dashboard.