Visa Unlocks Working Capital for Stablecoin-Linked Card Programs and FinTechs

Visa has introduced a new program aimed at enabling stablecoin-linked card programs and FinTechs to access working capital through on-chain lending. The company announced this initiative in a press release on Monday, September 8. Visa's solution leverages settlement data from its VisaNet payment network, combined with on-chain credit infrastructure, to assess financing opportunities and provide capital to emerging payment companies.

Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and partnerships, highlighted the potential of stablecoins to reshape the financial infrastructure supporting payments. Stablecoin-linked card programs on Visa's network have seen a nearly 200% year-over-year increase in payment volume, while the annualized run rate of Visa's stablecoin settlement volume has surged more than 15 times year-over-year, reaching over $20 billion.

Credit Coop, a firm offering working capital and settlement financing for stablecoin-linked card programs, utilizes Visa settlement data alongside on-chain transaction records to evaluate credit performance and facilitate automated settlement financing. Credit Coop's Founder and CEO, Chris Walker, explained that combining Visa settlement data with on-chain infrastructure allows for the real-time evaluation of live performance, automating repayment from the settlement flow and extending on-chain capital as programs expand.

The program's launch comes after Visa's July unveiling of the Visa Stablecoin Platform, currently in beta for select clients. This platform offers financial institutions, FinTechs, and crypto companies a unified managed environment for minting, redeeming, holding, and transferring stablecoins. In April, Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement pilot to include five additional blockchains, bringing the total supported blockchains to nine.

Birwadker emphasized that Visa has a history of enhancing payments' security, reliability, and accessibility, and this initiative represents a step towards enabling the next generation of financial services.