Visa takes stablecoins out of the pilot phase: USDC prefunding for cross-border payouts goes live through Inyo Global, with payouts reaching more than 180 countries

Visa's stablecoin experiments have become a product. The card network said on Thursday that stablecoin-enabled prefunding on Visa Direct, its push-payments service, has moved from pilot stage to commercial deployment. Eligible businesses can now hold USDC and use it to fund cross-border payouts in near real time, rather than waiting for bank funding windows to open, subject to eligibility and where the service is available.

Inyo Global, a payments infrastructure company serving money transmitters, fintechs, banks and payment businesses, is the first to switch it on for clients. Its platform already handles onboarding, fraud and compliance checks and payouts to more than 180 countries through Visa Direct, and Inyo co-founder Robson Dantas said the USDC option runs around the clock through the same APIs its clients already use.

"The next chapter for stablecoins is adoption," said Vira Platonova, Visa's global head of Visa Direct, who added that earlier efforts are now turning into live implementations.

Visa began testing stablecoin prefunding with USDC and EURC in September 2025 and USDC payouts to recipients that November, The Block reported, with zerohash named as its technology and regulatory infrastructure partner in August 2026. Earlier this month, a seven-day trial saw Visa settle $750,000 of payment obligations with Lloyds in USDC, with funds arriving in under an hour, including over a weekend, according to The Block.

The launch adds to a week of stablecoin plumbing announcements, after Mastercard's card platform with BVNK and Coinbase's card deal with Marqeta. Platonova is due to speak at Money20/20 USA next week.