Visa tests pre-funded stablecoins for cross-border payments

Visa is testing a pilot programme that gives financial institutions, banks and remittance providers the option of using pre-funded stablecoins to make cross-border payments faster and more flexible, without users having to tie up cash for extended periods of time.

Visa Direct, the payment network’s real-time platform, will use Circle Internet Group’s USC dollar and EURC euro-backed stablecoins for the pilot.

A representative of Circle did not reply to a request for comment.

The Visa programme has the potential to eliminate a worst-case scenario for clients: an underfunded account causing service delays for their end customers.

A remittance company, for example, must maintain pre-funded accounts in each of the markets where it operates in preparation for customer withdrawal requests. If the company receives more requests than expected and cannot fund all of them, it runs the risk of service interruptions.

If that occurs when traditional payment systems are not running, like during weekends, there could be days-long delays for consumers who use the service, according to Mark Nelsen, head of product for Visa’s commercial and money movement solutions.

“We’re giving this immediate ability to get money to the accounts in real time,” Nelsen said. “It’s a more efficient use of capital so you can deploy it as needed as opposed to having to deploy two or three days’ worth of money in one stop.”

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