NAIROBI, Kenya, September 30 – Payments solutions provider Visa has launched a pilot program that will allow businesses to use stablecoins to pre-fund cross-border payments through its Visa Direct platform.
The company says the move is anchored on cutting costs and easing liquidity pressures for financial institutions.
The new feature targets banks, remittance providers, and other financial institutions seeking faster, more flexible ways to manage global payouts.
Instead of parking fiat(government-issued currency) balances in advance, participants in the pilot will send stablecoins to Visa, which will treat them as prefunding to cover payments.
“Cross-border payments have been stuck in outdated systems for far too long,” said Chris Newkirk, President, Commercial and Money Movement Solutions at Visa.
“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.”
Visa contends that the pilot is designed to unlock liquidity by freeing capital from pre-funding accounts, reducing exposure to currency volatility, and shortening settlement times from days to minutes.
Visa said this could make treasury operations more predictable and dynamic.
According to Visa, Kenya could stand to benefit from such innovations, given that diaspora remittances are the country’s largest source of foreign exchange, hitting Sh 680 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2024 according to the Central Bank of Kenya.
Faster settlement through stablecoins would reduce delays and costs faced by millions of households who depend on money sent from abroad.
The payments company is working with select partners under the pilot, with broader availability expected in 2026.
