Visa has partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK to enable digital asset payments on Visa Direct, the company's $1.7 trillion real-time global payouts platform that the payments giant said will target markets with strong demand for faster, more efficient cross-border transactions.
What Happened: Stablecoin Payments Partnership
The partnership, announced Wednesday, will allow BVNK to power several Visa Direct services, including stablecoin pre-funding and payouts. BVNK processes more than $30 billion in payments annually.
Visa, the second-largest card payment organization globally behind China's UnionPay, has conducted multiple stablecoin pilots related to Visa Direct throughout 2025.
Mark Nelsen, Visa's head of product, commercial, and money movement, said stablecoins represent "an exciting opportunity for global payments, with enormous potential to reduce friction and expand access to faster, more efficient payment options – including during weekends, holidays and when banks are closed."
The deal follows Visa Ventures' investment in BVNK in May 2025.
Jesse Hemson-Struthers, BVNK CEO, said both companies "believe in the transformational potential of stablecoin technology, not just as a payment method, but as a powerful layer of payments infrastructure."
A broader global expansion is planned following the initial rollout, though Visa has not confirmed which markets will be included beyond stating decisions will be based on "customer needs."
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Why It Matters: Record Stablecoin Volume
Stablecoin adoption has accelerated over the past year as multiple countries have advanced related legislation, including President Donald Trump's signing of the GENIUS Act in the United States.
Total stablecoin transaction volume rose 72% to $33 trillion in 2025.
Tether's USDT remains the largest fiat-tied cryptocurrency by market cap, with a valuation more than double that of Circle's USDC.
USDC dominated transaction volume in 2025, accounting for $18.3 trillion compared to USDT's $13.3 trillion. Together, the two tokens represented the vast majority of total stablecoin volume last year.
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