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Visa has moved the stablecoin capabilities of its Visa Direct service from testing into commercial operation, naming Inyo Global as the first processor to run pre-funding in USDC in production, according to Cointribune. The change was made official on October 15, Cointribune reported, and lets eligible businesses finance cross-border payments with the dollar-pegged token around the clock rather than holding cash in bank accounts that close at nights and on weekends.
The story was also covered by News.bitcoin, which reported the announcement on Thursday and identified Inyo Global as a Massachusetts-based payments infrastructure company. Recipients are not necessarily paid in crypto: Cointribune noted that Visa Direct allows funds to be converted and paid out in local currency, with the stablecoin working in the background of the payment.
Also read: OUSD Stablecoin Launches With $1 Billion From Visa, Stripe Backers
Key facts
- Inyo Global became the first processor to put Visa Direct’s stablecoin pre-financing into production, officialized on October 15, per Cointribune.
- Inyo’s network covers more than 180 countries, and eligible clients can now use USDC to fund Visa Direct operations.
- Visa’s stablecoin settlements now exceed a $20 billion annualized run rate, a 15x increase year-over-year.
- Visa counts more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs, whose payment volumes rose nearly 200% year-over-year in the second fiscal quarter, Cointribune reported.
- In September, Visa completed its first stablecoin settlement with Lloyds Banking Group, receiving $750K in USDC over a seven-day pilot run while traditional banks were closed, according to News.bitcoin.
A pilot that became a product
Cointribune reported that Visa began testing stablecoin payments in the United States as early as 2025, with plans to widen the program in 2026. That expansion has happened. The practical problem the setup addresses is liquidity: companies sending international payments often must park funds in advance across several bank accounts, and banking hours can slow the refill of those accounts.
Vira Platonova, global head of Visa Direct, said the next chapter for stablecoins was adoption, telling News.bitcoin that partnerships the company had been exploring were now turning into live implementations. Robson Dantas, Inyo Global’s chief product and technology officer and co-founder, told News.bitcoin that the integration gives money transmitters, fintechs and payment companies the firm serves a new way to fund payouts, running through the same Inyo APIs they already use.
Also read: Visa survey: US stablecoin use could rise to 56% with bank-like cover
Visa’s approach remains a hybrid one, per Cointribune: stablecoins are used where they cut delays or tie up less liquidity, while the Visa Direct network continues to connect cards, bank accounts, wallets and local currencies. The two outlets differ slightly in framing — Cointribune emphasizes 24/7 pre-financing for eligible businesses, while News.bitcoin describes real-time fiat-to-stablecoin payouts in markets where payment infrastructure lags.
Why it matters
Stablecoins are shifting from a crypto-only instrument toward a treasury and settlement tool for mainstream payment companies. That matters most for money transmitters and fintechs operating in corridors where banking rails are slow or intermittent, since pre-funding is a recurring cost they carry continuously. Visa has also tested stablecoins with M-Pesa and Onafriq in the DRC in July, and at the start of October indicated that almost 17% of volume on its stablecoin-linked cards came from business-oriented programs. Cointribune noted that USDC and USDT already account for 84% of spending on certain crypto cards.
What to watch
Inyo Global is the first processor in production, and Cointribune reported that other processors can follow. Whether more enablers go live, and whether Visa’s annualized stablecoin settlement figure keeps climbing past the $20 billion mark, are the concrete markers to track. This article is not financial advice; crypto markets are volatile and uncertain.
Reported by cointribune.com.
Sources: Cointribune, News.bitcoin